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THIS  BOOR  IS  DUE  ON  THE  DATE 
INDICATED  BELOW  AND  IS  SUB- 
JECT TO  AN  OVERDUE  FINE  AS 
POSTED  AT  THE  CIRCULATION 
DESK. 


MUG  2  8  1990 
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,      ^^J  7  1996 


30M-10/73 


Swine  in  America 

A  Text-book  for  the 

Breeder,    Feeder 

&"  Student 


:   have  not  great  learning,  but  what  little  I  have  ac^iuired  was  paid  for  from 
the   proceeds  of  some  wheat  and   hogs. —  Brnjamin   Hurrison 


fTI  In  the  American  Hoc  we  have  an  automatic,  combined  machine  for  reducing 
ol  the  bulk  in  Corn  and  enhancing  its  value.  He  is  also  a  mint,  and  the 
Corn  of  our  common  country  is  the  bullion  he  transmutes  into  golden  coin. 
— J.    Sterling  Ahrton 


By  F.  D'.'  Coburii 

Secretary  Kansas  Department  of  Agriculture 


Illustrated 


NEW     YORK 

ORANGE  JUDD  COMPANY 

LONDON 

KEGAN   PAl'L,  TRENCH,   TRUBNER  &  CO.,  Limited 
1912 


Copyright  l!i09,  bt 

ORANGK  JUDD  COMPANY 

All  Rights  Reserved 


CIKTERED  AT  STATIONERS'  HALL,  LONDON,  ENGLANDJ 


[Printed  in  T'.  S.  A.] 


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CONCERNING  THE 
ILLUSTRATIONS 


n 


Of  some  of  the  illustrations  in  this  volume  it  may  be  said  by 
the  censorious  that  they  exaggerate ;  that  they  are  overdone,  and 
that  there  never  were  animals  of  the  porcine  tribe  so  nearly 
perfect  as  the  illustrations  represent.  There  is  but  a  measure  of 
truth  m  this,  and  persons  familiar  with  the  foremost  animals  of 
the  different  breeds  know  there  have  been  and  are  innumerable 
individuals  equal  if  not  superior  to  any  in  pictures  drawn  or  pub- 
lished m  good  faith.  In  fact,  a  photograph,  directly  from  life  too. 
owing  to  difficulties  which  photographers  and  artists  understand,  is 
more  liable  to  do  the  original  an  injustice  tnan  an  artist's  drawing 
is  to  flatter  it.  It  is  no  untruth  to  say  there  has  seldom  been  made 
a  photograph,  or  its  faithful  reproduction,  of  a  highly  developed 
domestic  animal  that  was  fair  to  the  original  until  corrected  with 
pencU  and  brush  and  tool.  Again,  the  illustrations  which  might  be 
cnticised  as  most  extravagant  are  those  of  animals  —  when  at  their 
very  best— fitted  and  fattened  to  the  highest  degree  that  experience 
and  skill  have  made  possible,  and  only  those  observant  of  and 
familiar  with  such  results  and  the  means  by  which  they  are 
produced  know  they  are  attainable.  Those  acquainted  only  with 
the  ordmary  farm  hog.  in  his  everyday  form  and  more  or  less 
soiled  apparel,  can  scarcely  comprehend  the  extent  to  which  his 
high-bred,  educated,  and  richly  fed  relatives  may  become  marvels 
of  porcine  beauty  and  behavior  when  bathed,  anointed,  manicured 
and  curled.  It  is  as  incredible  to  them  as  that  a  two-months  pig 
can  be  trained  to  walk  and  perform  tricks  upon  a  tight-rope  in  a 
circus,  yet  this  is  a  fact  to  which  many  thousands  can  bear  witness. 
^  These  pictures  are  not  presented  as  illustrations  of  what  more 
than  a  rare  few  are  likely  to  equal,  but  rather  that  students  and 
the  ambitious  may  observe  the  degree  of  perfection  to  which  im- 
provement can  be  and  has  been  pushed,  and  be  assured  that 
similar  achievements  are  possible  because  such  possibilities  have 
already  been  many  times  demonstrated. 

^  To  those  unacquainted  with  the  business  of  fitting  and  exhibit- 
ing, too,  it  is  but  fair,  if  not  clearly  a  duty,  to  say  that  the  animals 
seen  at  the  leading  shows  may  be  considered  as  looking  the  best 
that  the  best  individuals  in  the  hands  of  expert  breeders,  fitters 
and  showmen  can  possibly  be  made  to  look,  with  the  best  of  care 
and  food,  under  the  most  skillful  management,  and  without  serious 
regard  for  expense  or  economy.  Also,  that  except  in  the  hands 
of  others  equally  skilled  and  equally  regardless  of  time,  expense 
and  effort  they  will  probably  never  look  so  well  again. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

and  Its  Author 

Introdiii-eil   by    Prof.  W.  A.  Henry- 


Til  irtV-Ocld  years  ago  F.  D.  Coburn  gave  to  the 
American  farmer  tlie  best  book  we  have  had  on  swine 
husbandry.  Since  then  the  subject  has  grown  and  Mr. 
Coburn  has  grown,  and  all  these  intervening  years,  while 
growing,  he  has  been  collecting,  sifting  and  arranging 
matter  for  a  larger  and  far  more  complete  work.  A  really 
good  book  is  not  the  product  of  a  month  or  a  year,  but 
rather  the  fruitage  of  a  wholesome,  industrious  lifetime 
of  observation,  accumulation  and  refined  wisdom. 

There  still  remains  in  this  country  a  limited  number 
of  farmers  who  harbor  a  mild  enmity  and  narrow  suspi- 
cion toward  those  who  write  books  on  agriculture,  or 
those  who  read  such  books.  It  is  a  steadily  diminishing 
numi)er,  fortunately.  Now,  reader,  suppose  that  you  and 
I  were  to  nieet  a  successful  farmer  or  stockman  on  the 
highway,  at  a  farmers'  picnic,  on  the  railway  train,  or 
any  other  place,  and  drew  from  him  practical,  helpful 
obserxations  and  experiences  in  the  line  in  w^hich  he  ex- 
celled :  we  would  not  only  be  interested,  but  also  regard 
what  he  said  as  something  practical  and  helpful.  \\q 
would  both  agree  that  such  information  was  practical. 
Now,  suppose  we  had  a  stenographer  to  take  down  not 

ix 


X  INTRODLXTIOX 

only  wliat  this  man  saiM,  aiul  to  write  nut  his  expe- 
riences, but  also  tliDsc  of  hundreds  of  other  successful 
men  along  the  same  line.  Suppose,  further,  that  we 
j)laced  all  this  matter  in  the  hands  of  a  careful,  capable 
])erson.  who  would  arranc^-e.  condense,  and  express  in  a 
simple,  plain,  helpful  wa}-  all  that  he  had  so  accumulated. 
Would  any  of  the  information  S(^  fathered  be  less  \alu- 
able  because  it  tinally  appeared  in  print  than  if  it  were  to 
fall  on  the  car.  soon  to  be  largely  forgotten  and  lost? 
The  middleman  in  agriculture  is  just  as  important  in 
his  way  as  is  Hie  practical  man.  who  produces;  we  must 
have  both,  and  let  us  ap]3reciate  l)otIi  and  despise  neither. 

Mr.  Coburn  occupies  a  large  place  in  the  hearts  of 
American  farmers — a  ])lace  peculiarly  his  own.  for  there 
is  none  other  just  like  him.  He  has  gi\en  us  other 
books,  but  this  will,  without  doubt,  be  \\h:\t  those  who 
are  learned  would  call  his  "iiiaginni}  opus,"  which  is 
simply  Latin  for  ''great  work."  Since  ]\Ir.  Coburn 
writes  in  good,  substantial  English,  that  e\eryl)ody  can 
understand,  this  is  proba1)ly  the  only  Latin  that  will  ap- 
pear in  his  book. 

I  ha\'e  said  nc^thing  about  the  hog.  inv  Mr.  Coburn 
^^•ill  fill  to  the  limit  every  page  that  follows,  with  useful 
information  concerning  that  most  useful,  humble  meiu- 
ber  of  the  farm  domain. 

W.  A.  HENRY. 
Lhu'versity    of    \\'isconsin,    College    of    Agriculture, 
Madison.  Wis. 


CONTENTS 


Concerning  the  Illustralions     ....         vni 
Introduction  ......  ix 

CHAPTER   I 
Xumhers,  Importance,  Distributic^i,  Afarkets,  Values     I 

CHAPTJiR  11 
The  Breeder  and  Breeding      .  .  .  .  [3 

CHAPTER  HI 
Breeds:  Popularity  and  Distribution  .  .  25 

CPIAPTER  IV 
Breeds  and  IVpes  .....  32 

CHAPTER  V 
Practical  Points  in  Breeding  ....  67 

CHAPTER  VI 
The  Boar:    Selection  and  Management      .  .  79 

CHAPTER  VII 
The  Sow :    Selection  and  Management     .  .  106 

CHAPTER  VIII 
Pigs:  \\'caning  and  Growth  ....  149 

CHAPTER  IX 
Pasturing  and  Soiling  .....  160 

CHAPTER  X 
Alfalfa  l"or  Swine  .  .  .  .  .  190 

CHAPTER  XI 
Succulent  and  Bulky  l-'eeds  :  Roots  andl^ibers  .  237 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XII 
Indian  Corn :  The  Pork-Maker's  Mainstay 

CHAPTER  XIII 
I'^eeding-  and  Fattening 

CHAPTER  XIV 
W'heat,  Other  Grains  and  Gronnd  Feeds 

CHAPTER  XV 
Feeding  By-Products     . 

CHAPTER  XVI 
Walter,  Slop  and  Swill  . 

CHAPTER  XVIT 
Swine  Rearing  with  Dairying 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
Hog  Houses  and  Pens  . 

CHAPTER  XIX 

Sanitation  in  the  Hog  Lot     . 

CHAPTER  XX 
Castration    ..... 

CHAPTER  XXI 
Slaughtering  and  Curing 

CHAPTER  XXII 
Ra;^or-P>acks  not  "Cholera  Proof"  or  Profitahle 

CHAPTER  XXIII 
The  Most  Common  Diseases  of  Swine     . 

Appendix     ....... 


265 

299 
ZZ7 
371 
407 
427 
448 
490 
504 
508 
526 

532 

585 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


Page 

The  American  Farm  Mortgage  Removers Frontispiece 

Anatomical  Chart  of  Hogs vi 

A  Pair  of  Kansas-Reared  Poland-Chinas 4 

A  Famous  Poland-China  Boar 5 

Poland-China  Sow,  U.  S.  Perfection    133834 6 

Poland-China  Sow,  Lady  Lucile  222222 7 

A  Great  Poland-China  Boar 7 

A  400-Pound  Poland-China  Barrow 9 

Poland-China  Boar,  Heavyset  96007 9 

Two  Great  Poland-China  Sows 10 

Good  Specimens  of  Middle  Yorkshires 18 

A  Fine  Type  of  Chester  White  Boar 19 

Chester  White  Boar,  Leader  Chief 24 

A  Famous  Prize- Winning  Chester  White  Sow 25 

A  Two-year-old  Chester   White   Boar 28 

A  Champion  Yearling  Chester  White  Sow 29 

A  Pen  of  Chester  White  Boars 29 

Chester  White  Boar  as  Portrayed  in  1870 31 

A  Pair  of  Excellent  Duroc-Jerseys 44 

A  Group  of  Duroc-Jersey  Gilts 45 

Duroc-Jersey  Sow,  My  Choice 56 

A  Great  Duroc-Jersey  Boar 56 

A  Prize- Winning  Duroc-Jersey  Boar 57 

A  Great  Duroc-Jersey  Sow 57 

Cheshire   Boar 59 

Cheshire  Sow 60 

A   Noted  Yorkshire  Boar 70 

Berkshire  Boar,  Lord  Premier's  Rival  92805 71 

Berkshire  Sow,  Artful  Belle  30th  64947 86 

A   Yorkshire  Sow S7 

A  Small  Yorkshire  Sow  and  Litter 116 

Making  Hogs  of  Themselves 117 

A   Practical   Breeding  Crate 148 

In  the  Rape  Pasture 152 

A  Two-months-old  Rape  Plant 153 

A  Simple  System  of  Ear   Marking 159 

Making  Pork  from  Alfalfa  and  Corn 172 

B..X  used  for  Feeding  Alfalfa  Hay  to  Swine 173 

A  Movable  Paneled  Hog  Fence 1 76 

Pod  of  Cowpea 177 

Sand  or  Hairy  Vetch 178 

A  Two-year-old  Victoria  Boar 202 

A  Handsome  Victoria  Sow 203 

An    18-months  Victoria  Boar 220 

A  Pen  of  Fat  Victorias 221 

xiii 


Xiv  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

A  Snaa;!  Yorkshire  Boar 244 

Yorkshire  Sow,  Miss  Hollinjisworth  4th 245 

Yorkshire  Boar,  S.  H.  Perl'ection,  Jr 254 

A  Group  of  Yorkshire  Gilts 255 

Tubers  and  Mature  Artichoke  Plant 257 

A  Yorkshire  S  jw  as  Portra.wd  in  1870 264 

By  These  American  Corn  is  Converted  into  Coin 276 

The  Matrons  of  the  Farm  Yard 277 

An  Essex  Sow  with  Litter 30S 

A  Well-Fatted  Essex 309 

An  Attractive  Essex  Gilt 30') 

A  Self-Feeding  Device  for  Ear  Corn  or  Alfalfa 32.5 

Mason's  Self-Feeder  for  Shelled  Corn 324 

A  Self-Feeder  used  at  Kansas  Penitentiary 326 

A  Trio  of  Kansas-Reared  Berkshires 340 

Berkshire  Sow,  Duchess  279th — 75009 341 

Berkshire  Boar,  Premier  Longfellow  68600 348 

Berkshire  Boar,  Premier  Francis   102900 349 

Field  Pea  and  Soy  Bean  Plants  and  Pods 354 

Berkshire  Boar,  Star  Masterpiece  10200 358 

Front  of  a  Kansas-Bred  Berkshire  Boar,  Fie  d  Marshall  103300 359 

Front  of  Kansas-Bred  Berkshire  Boar,  Berryton   Duke,  Jr.,  77341 359 

A  Berkshire  Sow  as  Portrayed  in  1870 368 

A  Poland-China  Boar  as  Portrayed  in  1870 368 

Champion  Herd  of  Hampshire  Swine  at  the  World's  Fair 376 

Hampshires,  at  Home,  in  the  Barn   Lot 377 

Prize-Winning  Hampshire  Barrows  at  the  International 390 

Group  of  Hampshire  Gilts  Eight  and  Nine  Months  Old 391 

Champion  Hampshire  Boar,  Long  John  801 1 391 

A  Tamworth  Boar  Owned  by  Kansas  State  Agricultural  College 410 

Tamworth  Sow,  Springbrook  Nellie  2 102 411 

Tamworth  Boar,  Englewood's  Fireman  1864 418 

Tamworth  Sow,  Verty  Queen  3901 419 

A  Tamworth  Gilt 419 

One  Style  of  Partitioned  Troughs 423 

Other  Styles  of  Partitioned  Wood  and  Cast  Iron  Troughs 423 

A  Good  Stationary  Trough  with  Platform 424 

A  Well-Protected  Trough 424 

An   Invertiblc   Trough 425 

A  Hanging  Gate  Over  a  Trough 425 

An   Unbreakable  Trough 426 

lUiiiiiis  Exi)cnment  Station  Hog  House  Exterior 428 

Illinois  Experiment  Station  Hog  House  Interior 428 

Individual  Hog  House  at  the  Illinois  Experiment  Station  Set  Uj) 429 

Individual  Hog  House  at  Illinois  Experiment  Station  Taken  Down 429 

View  of  A.  T.  Garth's  Cement  Block  Hog  House 434 

Illinois  Experiment  Station  Hog  House  with  Slopin'r  Roof 434 

Individual  Hog  Houses  Scattered  in  the  Pasture 435 

Professor  vShepard's  Self-Dipping  Hog  Tank 450 

A  Pen  of  Pure-Bred  Poland-China  Barrows  Under  Six  Months  Old 451 

Gnnind  Plan  <jf  the  Illinois  Experiment  Station  Hog  House 455 


LIST    OF    ILIA-.STRATIONS  XV 

Page 

Location  of  the  Illinois  Station  Hog  House  with  Reference  to  Pasture -lol 

Oroiuul  Plan  of  Combination  Hog  House  Made  by  Prof.  J.  G.  Fuller 4o3 

Plan  of  Swinging  Partitions  for  Professor  Fuller's  Hog  House 4o4 

Corner  of  Farrowing  Pen  in  Prof.  Fuller's  Hog  House 465 

Exterior  and  Plan  of  Illinois  Breeder's  Hog  House 406 

Ground  Plan  of  A.  T.  Garth's  Cement  Hog  House 467 

(jround  Plan  and  Exterior  of  an  Indiana  House  Hog  and  Pens 468 

An  Inexpensive  Style  of  Hog  House 469 

A  Convenient  Feed  House  and  Feeding  Floor 470 

End  View  of  the  Tobias  Hou.se  and  Pens 472 

General  Plan  of  the  Tobias  House  and  Pens 47.^ 

Plan  and  Location  of  a  Movable  Second  Floor 478 

Michigan  Experiment  Stati(jn  Individual  Hog  House  with  Sloping  Sides.  .  .  .  483 

Michigan  Experiment  Station  Individual  Hog  House  with  Perpendicular  Sides  483 

A  More  Elaborate  Michigan  Experiment  Station  Individual  Hog  House 484 

An  Individual  Hog  House  Protected  in  Cold  Weather 485 

A  Good  House  for  the  Sow  and  Young  Pigs 486 

Yard  Plan  for  Portable  Hog  House  in  Connection  with  Pasture  or  Feed  Lots  487 

A  Two-Way  Door  for  Hog  House 488 

Device  for  Keeping  Hogs  Separated  from  Cattle 48^ 

Hog  Louse  Half  Grown  and  Eggs 408 

At  Hog  Killin'  Time  on  the  Farm 506 

Carcasses  of  Eight-months-old  Yorkshires  at  Northeast  Minnesota  Experiment 

Station 507 

A  Heating  and  Scalding  Vat  with  Scraping  Platform 510 

A  Number  of  Butchering  Conveniences 512 

Device  for  Easy  Scalding  and  Hanging 513 

Arrangement  for  Hanging  Hogs 514 

Simple  Devices  for  Hanging  Hogs 515 

Texas  Razor-Backs  U.sed  in  Cross-breeding  Experiments  at  Wisconsin  Experi- 
ment Station 520 

A  Great  Chester  White  Sow 521 

The  Round  Worm 559 

Tlie  Kidney  Worm 561 

The  Strongylus  Dentatus 562 

M'isles  or  Tape  Worm  in  Swine 565 

Adult  Swine  Tape  Worm 566 

The  Trichina  Worm 567 


H.  C  State  College 


SWINE  IN  AMERICA. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Their  Numbers^  Importance,  Distribution, 
Markets  and  Values. 

America,  and  especially  the  United  States,  is  the  great 
swine-producing  region  of  the  world.  The  principal  seat 
of  this  industry  is  the  Mississippi  valley,  where  Indian 
corn  is  grown  in  greatest  abundance  and  at  least  expense. 
Nowhere  else  are  the  conditions  so  favorable ;  nowhere 
else  are  grain  and  pasturage,  the  basis  of  all  economical 
meat  production,  grown  in  such  profusion  or  to  such 
a(l\antage.  It  is  this  territory  to  which  frequent  allusion 
is  made  in  this  volume  as  the  corn  belt.  It  is  the  corn- 
tield.  not  only  of  America,  but  of  the  world. 

North  America  has  in  round  numbers  58,000,000 
swine,  of  which  95  per  cent  are  in  the  United  States 
and  5  per  cent  in  Canada.  These  constitute  almost  half 
the  hogs  in  the  world.  The  United  Kingdom  has  but 
about  3.500,000.  The  wilue  of  the  swine  industry  to 
the  United  States  is  graphically  represented  below  by 
the  one  item  of  its  surplus  products  exported  each  year 
to  other  countries.  The  enormous  value  of  these 
amounts  to  $130,000,000  annually. 


2  SWIiNE   IN    AxM ERICA 

VALUES  OF  EXPORTS  OF  SWINE    PRODUCTS  DUKIXG 
THE    YEAR    EXDIXG    JUXE    30,    1907 

One  Million  Dollars 

Lard 

Bacon 

Ham 

Salt  pork 

Lard  compounds  and  substitutes 

Fresh  pork 

■ 

Live  hogs 

I 

Canned  pork 

I 

Lard  oil 

THE   LEADING    SWINE   STATES 

The  number  of  hogs  in  the  United  States  January  i, 
1908,  in  thousands,  as  reported  by  the  Department  of 
Ag-riculture  was  56,084,000.  Of  these,  Oy  per  cent  were 
in  12  states,  as  follows: 

states  Number  of   t^winc 

Iowa    8.413.000 

Illinois     4.672.000 

Nebraska     4,243,000 

Missouri    3,593,000 

Indiana    3,1 59,000 

Texas    3.147,000 

Kansas     2,663,000 

Ohio     2,559,000 

Wisconsin     1.9 10.000 

Georgia   i  ,599,000 


IMTORTAiXCE,    DISTKIDLTION,    MARKETS,    NALLES  3 

States  Xumb(  r   of   Swine 

Tennessee    1.502,000 

Alichigan     1.388,000 

Total    38.848,000 


DISTRIBUTION   OF   SWINE  IN   THE   UNITED  STATES 


From  the  foregoing-  it  is  seen  that  the  bulk  of  the 
surplus  swine  of  the  world — the  surplus  from  which 
armies,  navies,  and  nations  less  fortunate  than  ours  are 
fed — is  grown  in  a  strip  of  the  United  States,  the  prin- 
cipal waters  of  which  find  their  outlets  to  the  sea  through 
the  Mississippi  river.  The  great  swine  states  also  coin- 
cide remarkably  with  the  great  corn  states.  It  will  be 
seen  in  the  map  above  that  in  numbers  the  swine  of 
America  are  gathered  about  a  center  in  the  state  of  Iowa. 
All  of  the  great  corn  states  show  totals  amounting  to 
millir^ns.  The  southern,  eastern  and  far  western  states 
comprise  a  territory  showing  a  much  smaller  number  of 


4  SWINE  IN    AMERICA 

swine,  and  in  New  England  and  the  Rocky  mountain 
states  the  total  number  falls  to  the  minimum. 

THE   WEALTH   THAT   SWINE   REPRESENT 

The  value  of  the  swine  in  the  United  States  in  Jan- 
uary, 1908,  was  $339,030,000,  and  in  12  states  alone 
they  were  valued  at  $239,317,000,  which  shows  the 
degree  to  which  swine  raising  has  been  concentrated  in  a 
few  states  of  the  corn  belt.  The  values  in  these  states 
do  not  follow  the  order  of  numbers,  as  will  be  seen  by 
referring-  to  the  Appendix  at  the  close  of  this  volume. 
Texas,  for  instance,  has  over  3.000,000  head,  valued  at 
$16,500,000.  In  numbers  Texas  exceeds  Ohio  by  over 
half  a  million,  while  in  values  Ohio  leads  Texas  by  over 
$100,000.  Similar  contrasts  may  be  noted  as  to  num- 
bers and  values  in  other  states.  The  larger  value  per 
head  in  certain  states  may  be  attributed  in  a  great 
measure  to  improved  breeding  in  those  states. 


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CHANGES    IN    NUMBERS    AND    VALUES    OF    SWINE    FOR    3O 
YEARS. 

The  numbers  and  farm  values  of  swine  for  the  past  30 
years  have  shown  a  somewhat  irregular  increase.     From 


IMPORTAJSJCE,  DISTRIBUTION,  MARKETS,  VALUES  5 

a  total  of  34,766,000  in  1879  to  56,084,000  in  1908,  the 
numbers  have  increased.  During  tlie  same  interval  the 
total  farm  \alne  has  grown  from  $110,508,000  in  1879 
to  $339,030,000  in  1908.  Annual  changes  of  num- 
bers and  values  are  shown  on  page  4,  based  upon  the 
table  in  the  Appendix.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  changes 
in  numbers  and  values  have  followed  each  other,  except 
in  a  few  instances,  the  general  trend,  however,  being 
the  same. 

THE  GREAT  HOG  MARKETS  AJVU  PACKING  CENTERS 

The  number  of  hogs  slaughtered  at  the  principal 
packing  points  in  the  United  States  in  the  year  ending 
j\Iarch  I,  1908,  was  reported  as  34.400,000,  averaging 
226.58  pounds  per  head,  and  costing  the  packers  $5.52 
per  100  pounds,  or  a  total  of  $427,353,000.  Of  these 
hogs  27,981,000,  costing  $350,053,000,  w^ere  slaughtered 
at  what  are  called  western  packing  points;  i.  e.,  not  east 
of  Cincinnati,  Indianapolis  and  Chicago.  The  average 
yield  of  lard  for  all  was  14.35  per  cent,  or  32.51  pounds. 

The  greatest  swine  market  as  well  as  hog  slaughtering 
point  in  the  world  is  Chicago.  There  have  been  marketed 
there  87,716  hogs  in  one  day  (February  10,  1908)  ;  more 
than  300,000  in  a  single  week;  more  than  r, 100,000  in  a 
month,  and  nearly  9.000.000  in  a  year.  Of  these,  about 
7,500,000  were  slaughtered  in  Chicago  establishments. 
The  total  number  received  there  in  the  42  years  since  the 
Union  stock  yards  were  established  (to  and  including  the 
year  1907)  is  a  little  less  than  247.000,000.  In  the  year 
last  named  the  receipts  were  7,201,061  head,  or  101,122 


O  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

carloads,  valued  at  $102,918,041.  or  an  average  price 
of  $6.10  per  100  pounds,  live  weight,  for  all  kinds  and 
qualities,  their  average  weight  being  234  pounds. 

The  second  most  extensive  hog  market  in  the  world, 
and  packing  point  as  well,  is  Kansas  City,  Kansas,  where, 
since  the  establishment  of  stock  yards  there  in  1871,  to 
December  31,  1907,  were  received  67,689,255  swine.  The 
receipts  in  1907  were  2.923,777  head,  having,  alive,  an 
average  weight  of  212  pounds.  Of  these  2,729,628  head 
were  used  by  local  slaughterers.  The  largest  receipts 
for  a  day  at  Kansas  City  were  34,334  head;  for  a  week. 
132,030;  for  a  month,  503,514  (January,  1908);  for  a 
year,  3,716,404  head,  or  37,752  carloads.  Of  these  but 
1,570  carloads  were  reshipped.  In  the  month  of  Januar}-, 
1908,  the  hogs  slaughtered  by  Kansas  City  packers  num- 
bered 548,264. 

Omaha,  like  Kansas  City,  a  Missouri  river  town,  is 
the  world's  third  swine  market  and  packing  metropolis. 
In  the  24  years,  including  1907.  since  stock  yards  were 
established  there  the  receipts  of  live  hogs  have  exceeded 
39.000,000  head.  The  receipts  there  for  the  calendar  year 
1907  were  2,253,652  head,  and  the  number  packed  was 
2.150.244.  Their  average  live  weight  was  (about)  250 
pounds. 

Cincinnati,  which  fifty  years  before  was  supposedly 
the  center,  and  would  remain  the  headquarters  of  the 
swine-growing  industry,  then  leading  all  the  world  as  a 
hog-killing  point,  occupied  in  1907  but  eighth  place  in 
such  a  list;  and  seven  cities,  viz..  Chicago.  Kansas  City, 
Kansas,  Omaha,  St.  Louis,  St.  Joseph,  Indianapolis  and 


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Poland-Cliiiia     Sow,     Lady     Lucile    222222 


A  Great    Poland-China   Boar 


IMroKTAXCJ-:,  DISTKIBUTIUX,   MAKKKTS,  N'ALUES  / 

Milwaukee,  which  have  grown  up  to  the  west  and  north- 
west, annually  slaughter  from  two  to  ten  times  as  many- 
swine  as  are  killed  at  Cincinnati. 

CHANGES   IN   SWINE,   AND   VARIATIONS   IN  VALUES 

Since  about  the  year  1865  importation,  crossing,  selec- 
tion, castration,  feeding  and  careful  study  have  wrought 
wonderful  clianges  in  the  swine  of  America.  Objection- 
able characteristics  have  been  bred  out  and  fed  out,  weight 
of  undesirable  or  cheap  parts  lessened,  that  of  the  more 
\  aluable  parts  augmented,  and  the  tendency  to  early  ma- 
turity increased  30  to  50  per  cent.  The  proportion  of  pure- 
breds,  or  animals  that,  if  used  for  breeding  purposes, 
would  improve  the  quality  of  the  general  stock,  is  greater 
by  several  hundred  per  cent;  the  proportion  of  improved 
blood  prevalent  in  the  general  stock  is  a  thousand-fold 
greater,  and  the  spirit  of  further  improvement  has  been, 
and  is  abroad  everywhere,  l)ut  to  a  much  greater  degree  in 
some  sections  of  the  country  than  in  others.  A  striking 
indication  of  the  correctness  of  this  latter  statement  is 
disclosed  in  the  values  placed  Ijy  the  presumably  impartial 
L'nited  States  Department  of  Agriculture  on  the  swine 
in  the  different  states.  For  example,  the  report  for  Jan- 
uary I,  1908.  rates  the  hogs  of  Florida  at  $3.75  per  head; 
of  Arkansas.  $3.80;  of  Mississippi  and  Louisiana,  $4.50; 
Alabama  and  Kentucky,  $4.60;  and  Tennessee,  $4.65. 
The  same  report  gives  the  A-alue  of  Connecticut  hogs 
as  $10.50  each;  Massachusetts,  $10.25;  Rhode  Island, 
Xew  Jersey,  Montana  and  Nevada,  $to;  New  York, 
$8.90;  Pennsylvania,  v$7.8o:  Tllinois,  $6.60;  Iowa.  $6.50, 


«  SWIXE  IX  AMERICA 

etc.  \\  hile  it  would  proljably  be  quite  misleading  to  aver 
that  the  higher  values  accredited  to  some  of  the  states 
stood  for  the  much  greater  improvement  or  superiority 
their  proportions  would  suggest,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the 
lower  Aalues  represent  and  are  due  to  lack  of  and  in- 
difference to  swine  improvement  in  the  states  to  which  the 
astonishingly  lower  figures  are  ascribed.  The  figures 
do  not  signify  that  there  are  not  swine  of  good  breeding 
and  quality  in  all  of  the  states  having  the  low  values,  but 
in  whatexer  measure  the  estimates  point  to  a  low  general 
average  in  quality  and  breeding,  and  lack  of  interest  in 
swine  production,  they  are  close  to  the  borders  of 
accuracy. 

Their  value  is  not  given  as  averaging  nearly  so  high, 
yet  in  Iowa,  Illinois,  Ohio  or  Kansas,  there  are  doubtless 
a  hundred  hogs  to  one  of  as  good  quality  in  Massachu- 
setts, Connecticut  or  Rhode  Island,  the  limited  number 
in  the  latter  named  states,  and  their  being  maintained 
chiefly  for  the  family  pork  barrel,  in  very  small  groups, 
under  the  most  favorable  conditions  and  with  much 
better  individual  care,  making  easily  possible  a  higher 
average  in  both  individual  value  and  quality — not  in  any 
wise  for  breeding  purposes,  but  for  immediate  consump- 
tion— than  is  profitably  attained  under  the  conditions 
existing  and  practices  prevailing  in  the  vast  territory 
where  farms  turn  off  swine,  at  intervals  throughout  the 
year,  by  carloads 

Fifty  years  ago  large  size,  almost  regardless  of  the 
time  required  for  its  attainment,  was  in  the  grower's  eye 
an  important  object,  but  conditions  have  changed  to  such 


A  400-i)ouiid  Poland-China  Barrow  at  9i^    Months 


Poland-China    Roar,    Hoavysot    90007,    a    Groat    Prize-Winner 


IMPORTANCE^    DISTRIBUTION,    MARKETS,    VALUES         9 

an  extent  tliat  now  the  old-time  mammoth  is  no  longer 
reared  or  wanted,  and  his  possession,  even  though  he 
were  champion,  would  cause  the  producer  to  be  pitied 
ratlier  than  envied.  The  tendency  is  toward  breeds  and 
combinations  of  breeds  that  will  gi\-e,  with  generous 
k'cep.  a  vigorous  animal  of  175  to  400  pounds,  of  flesh 
ratlier  than  lard,  witli  15  months  as  the  maximum  time 
for  making  the  heaviest  weight. 

LIVE    AVEIGHTS    AND    LARD    AY^ERAGES 

The  average  live  weight  of  hogs  packed  in  the  West 
during  the  winter  seasons  (ending  March  i)  and  their 
average  yield  of  lard,  in  pounds,  for  30  years  from 
1879  to  1908.  has  shown  a  fairly  steady  decline.  Ac- 
cording to  figures  compiled  by  the  Cincinnati  Price  Cur- 
rent the  heaviest  average  weight  was  271  pounds  in  1879 
and  the  lightest  yearly  weight  was  206  pounds  in  1902. 
For  the  last  five  years  the  average  weights  have  ranged 
around  223  pounds,  as  shown  in  detail  in  the  Appendix. 

The  average  weight  of  hogs  and  yield  of  lard  from 
hogs  packed  in  the  West  during  the  summer  seasons 
(ending  November  i)  for  16  years  from  1892  to  1907 
has  shown  but  a  slight  change  from  241  pounds  in  1896 
to  230  pounds  in  1907.  The  exact  weights  for  each  year 
are  given  in  detail  in  the  .\ppendix. 

IT^ARLY    COST    OF    HOGS 

The  cost  per  too  pounds  of  hogs,  alive,  packed  in  the 
West  in  summer  and  winter  seasons  has  fluctuated  greatly 


lO  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

during  the  last  24.  years,  as  tabulated  by  the  Price  Cur- 
rent. The  lowest  cost  was  reached  in  1896-97,  estimated 
at  $3.30  per  100  pounds.  The  liigliest  cost  yet  recorded 
was  that  in  1902-03,  when  it  reached  $6.81  per  100 
pounds.  Figures  for  each  year  from  1883-84  to  1907-08 
are  given  in  the  Appendix. 

EXPANSION  OF  THE  SWINE  AND  CORN-GROWING 
INDUSTRY 

Tiiat  the  swine  interest  has  been  one  of  steady  and 
constant  expansion,  and  has  followed  and  been  con- 
temporaneous with  the  expansion  of  the  American  corn- 
field is  well  attested  by  official  statistics.  These  show 
that  40  years  ago  there  were  24,693,000  hogs  in  the 
United  States,  and  the  corn  crop  was  768,320,000 
bushels,  and  that  in  four  decades  since  the  hogs  have  in- 
creased (127  per  cent)  to  56,084,000  head,  and  the  corn 
yield  to  2,592,320,000  bushels. 

IMPROVEIVIENTS    MADE    AND    THE    ROOM    FOR    OTHERS 

It  is  probable  that  but  a  very  moderate  per  cent  of  all 
the  swine  raised  for  pork  are  pure-breds,  or  of  a  single 
breed.  .\  majority  are  black,  with  slight  markings  of 
white,  mostly  confined  to  the  feet,  face  and  tip  of  tail,  and 
in  that  respect  more  like  the  Berkshires  than  any  other 
breed.  A  percentage  of  these  are  Poland-Chinas  and 
Berkshires,  but  a  largely  preponderating  number  are  a 
mixture  of  these  two  breeds.  Spotted  black  and  white 
hogs  are  extremely  rare,  wliicli  indicates  that  the  direct 
crossing  of  black  breeds  with  wliite  is  practiced  but  little; 


IMPORTANCE,   DISTRIBUTION,    MARKETS,   VALUES       TI 

likewise  an  entirely  black  hog-  is  rather  an  unusual  sight. 
Santly  hogs  spotted  with  black  are  not  uncommon,  and 
are  the  results,  generally  quite  satisfactory,  of  inter- 
breeding swine  largely  black  with  the  reddish  13uroc- 
Jerseys  or  the  Tamworths. 

liy  the  use  of  pure-bred  sires,  particularly,  the  work  of 
improvement  is  pushed  forward  every  year,  and  the 
scrub  is  being  steadily  eliminated.  This  is  especially 
true  in  those  states  where  swine  husbandry  has  largest 
recognition  as  a  prolitaljle  factor  in  agricultural  pros- 
{)erity.  High-class  agriculture  comprehends  high-class 
animal  husbandry,  and,  conversely,  a  shiftless  agriculture 
is  satisfied  with  and  lends  countenance  to  a  low  grade  of 
farm  animals.     I'here  is  no  exception  to  this. 

However,  in  spite  of  the  constant  improvement  going 
on  for  so  long  a  time,  there  is  yet  ample  room  for 
much  more,  even  in  those  sections  where  advancement 
has  been  most  general.  The  reasonable  explanation  of 
this,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  is  the  indifference  to,  or 
failure  to  recognize,  the  benefits  that  accrue  from  the 
persistent  use  of  pure-bred  sires,  and  being  shiftlessly 
content  to  use  grades  or  nondescripts  l)ecause  of  the 
supposed  saving  of  five  or  ten  dollars  in  original  cost. 
H  attention  is  paid  at  all  by  the  owners  of  such  stock  to 
the  character  of  the  sire  (which  too  often  is  not  the  case) 
a  pig  of  some  home  litter,  of  no  particular  blood,  breed- 
ing, or  possible  prepotency,  is  reserved  for  or  permitted 
to  do  service,  and  that  too  under  conditions  and  in  an 
cn\ironment  adapted  to  making  a  scrub  of  him  and  like- 
wise of  his  get.      Persisted  in,  this  can  lead  only  to  chaos 


12  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

SO  far  as  quality  or  any  desirable  uniformity  is  con- 
cerned, and  while  by  no  means  the  rule  it  is  yet  un- 
necessarily and  unjustifiably  common.  The  encouraging 
feature  of  the  situation  as  it  exists  is  that  reliable 
material  with  which  to  work  improvement  was  never 
before  so  abundant,  so  readily  available,  and  at  a  cost 
so  nearly  nominal — almost  una]:)preciable  considering 
possible  results — as  in  the  first  decade  of  the  twentieth 
century. 


CHAPTER  IT. 

The  Breeder  and  Breeding 

The  hog  is  more  of  an  individual  than  a  machine,  and 
his  breeder  should  treat  him  as  such.  Methods  which 
,  may  be  accepted  as  established  have  been  worked  out  in 
.'•.wine  breeding-,  but  adherence  to  all  of  them  cannot,  for 
many  practical  reasons,  be  rigid.  The  breeder  himself, 
his  breeding  stock,  environment,  feed  res6urces,  climate 
and  other  factors  are  so  largely  involved  that  one  man's 
success  may  spell  another  man's  failure.  A  common- 
sense  type  of  hog  in  the  hands  of  a  common-sense 
breeder  constitutes  a  combination  best  calculated  foi 
satisfaction  and  profit  during  a  succession  of  years. 

Live  stock  husbandry  represents  a  high  type  of  con- 
structive effort,  and  swine  breeding  offers  as  much  satis- 
faction and  gain  as  any  other  branch.  It  may  profitably 
engage  the  attention  of  the  man  who  raises  hogs  merely 
from  financial  motives,  but  a  breeder  who  attains  a  fore- 
most place  in  his  calling  has  an  interest  in  his  business 
not  inspired  solely  by  rewards  in  money.  The  compen- 
sations of  swine  raising  are  ample  for  the  man  who 
desires  to  make  his  work  a  profession,  as  hundreds  who 
have  a  just  pride  in  tlieir  achievements  can  testify. 

Intelligence  used  in  his  breeding  and  care  has  raised 
the  hog  from  the  plane  of  the  veriest  savage,  unsought 
excej)t  wlien  lumted  like  any  otlier  wild  beast,  to  that  of 

13 


14  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

a  benefactor,  contributing  a  wide  variety  of  meats,  amorg 
them  the  most  tootlisome  known  to  the  epicure,  and 
other  products  essential  to  the  best  tables,  to  commerce 
and  to  the  trades.  The  hog's  disposition  has  yielded  to 
the  influence  of  good  breeding  and  changed  from  that 
of  the  outlaw,  ready  for  conflict  with  man  or  beast,  to 
the  peaceable  temj^erament  belonging  with  propriety  to 
the  barnyard  resident.  His  conformation  has  been 
molded  by  skillful  methods  from  bony,  angular  uncouth- 
ness  into  a  structure  of  massive  width,  depth  and  thick- 
ness, affording  a  marvelous  yield  of  pork  and  lard. 
Incidentally,  by  domestication  and  generations  of  breed- 
ing him  for  early  maturity  and  quick  fattening,  the 
length  of  his  intestines  has  been  increased,  it  is  claimed 
by  scientists,  more  than  130  per  cent 

EFFECT   OF   ENVIRONMENT 

Swine  are  as  susceptible  as  other  anmials  to  the  in- 
fluences of  environment,  and  three  or  four  generations 
cover  a  period  long  enough  to  bring  about  great  changes 
in  them.  Experiments  made  at  the  Wisconsin  station 
in  crossing  the  wild  or  Razor-Back  hogs  and  their  crosses 
with  the  improved  and  approved  breeds  showed  that  a 
marked  improvement  in  appearance  and  quality  in  the 
wild  hogs'  progeny  was  possible,  although  in  constitu- 
tion and  gains  of  flesh  they  did  not  compare  with  pure- 
breds.  The  second  generation,  as  may  be  seen  by  the 
illustration  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  does  not 
give  marked  evidence  of  Razor-Back  ancestry.  Yet 
when  cholera  struck  the  station  herds  these  supposedly 


THE  BREEDER  AND  BREEDING  1 5 

hardier  hogs  were  the  first  to  succumb.  Their  feeding- 
habits  were  irregular;  on  one  day  they  would  gorge 
iheniselves  so  that  they  would  be  found  fasting  for  the 
next  day  or  more.  These  compelling  forces  of  heredity 
made  plain  that  both  right  breeding  and  right  environ- 
ment are  essential  to  the  attainment  of  right  results. '  At 
the  same  time  environment  may  be,  in  some  cases,  a;- 
destructiv^e  in  its  results  as  in  other  cases  it  is  beneficial. 
Swine  typical  of  the  best  breeding  require  but  two  or 
three  generations  of  wrong  environment  to  degenerate 
to  the  level  of  the  most  unapproved  types.  Much,  there- 
fore, depends  upon  the  breeder  and  his  provisions  for 
and  care  in  handling. 

BREEDING   AS   A   BUSINESS 

Breeding  is  a  business  and  should  be  conducted  on 
that  basis.  Whether  supplied  with  unlimited  capital  or 
restricted  to  a  few  hogs  and  meager  facilities  the  breeder 
has  excellent  opportunity  to  exercise  his  business  sense, 
and  swine  raising  will  pay  him  well  therefor.  The  man 
who  is  careless  or  indolent  may  have  as  much  or  more 
ill  "luck"  in  raising  hogs  as  in  any  other  similar  under- 
taking. 

When  hogs  for  some  time  bring  more  than  ordinarily 
high  prices  the  tendency  and  temptation  are  for  rushing 
pellmell  into  swine  raising,  and  likewise  to  be  forgetful 
of  quality  in  obtaining  quantity.  It  has  always  been  so. 
and  probably  always  will  be.  But  the  author's  obser- 
vation is  that  it  has  taken  persistent  and  skillful 
mismanagement  to  lose  money  in  hog  raising  with  prices 
as   they   liave  ranged    for   30  years   past,    barring,    of 


I6  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

course,  some  such  epidemic  as  tiie  so-called  cholera. 
There  is  no  branch  of  farming-  or  stock  husbandry  which, 
conchicted  with  a  reasonable  amount  of  fair  horse  sense 
and  starved  with  systematically,  one  year  with  another, 
will  do  better  by  its  proprietor  -  '  more  successfully 
keep  the  wolf  and  sheriff  from  his  door  than  the  rearing 
of  well-bred  swine.  This,  if  he  is  satisfied  with  reason- 
able gains  and  such  substantial,  steady  growth  as  per- 
tains to  the  better  class  of  farming,  conducted  with 
skill  and  intelligence.  If  the  experience  of  the  best  men 
is  worth  anything,  if  their  observations  and  bookkeeping- 
have  any  value  as  standpoints  from  which  to  judge,  there 
is  surely  a  profit  in  wisely  bred,  wisely  fed  hogs,  and 
there  always  has  been,  at  any  price  for  which  they  have 
been  sold  two  years  in  succession  within  the  observation 
of  men  now  in  active  life. 

As  a  good  business  man,  the  breeder  should  inquire 
into  his  own  qualifications  and  special  fitness  for 
raising  swine.  In  any  line  of  work,  and  especially  in 
agriculture,  the  man  who  would  obtain  results  must 
possess  and  apply  enthusiasm,  method,  energy  and 
knowledge.  Whosoever  lacks  at  least  the  germ  of 
each  of  these  errs  when  he  begins.  No  man  in  whom 
there  was  not  born  a  pleasure  in  the  handling  and  care 
of  animals  should  have  anything  to  do  with  live  stock 
husbandry.  His  efforts  will  not  advance  the  develop- 
ment of  any  breed,  nor  is  he  likely  to  ever  become  the 
shipper  of  any  market-toppers.  The  shiftless,  careless 
man  whose  study  is  to  devise  plans  for  avoiding  work, 
to  whom  feeding  his  animals  is  a  drudgery,  and  their 


TILE  liREEDER  AND  BREEDING  1/ 

cleanliness  and  exercise  too  unimportant  for  special 
attention,  may  make  a  reputation,  but  it  will  be  one  that 
is  unenviable  and  unsalable.  If  he  cannot  interest  him- 
self in  his  work  and  enjoy  results  attained  by  systematic 
and  persistent  effort,  he  will  more  than  likely  iind  swine 
raising-  too  taxing  for  his  capacity. 

Some  knowledge  of  hogs  and  their  rearing  is  essential, 
but  an  inexperienced  man  with  an  open  mind  may  accom- 
plish much.  He  has  many  sources  of  information — his 
neighbors  and  otiier  breeders  who  have  had  practical  ex- 
perience, the  standard  and  current  literature  on  swine, 
the  work  of  the  state  and  national  agricultural  depart- 
ments and  stations,  the  agricultural  press,  meetings  of 
Ijreeders,  farmers'  institutes,  and  others.  No  one  knows 
everything  about  swine  husbandry,  but  anyone  with  a 
desire  for  knowledge  can  find  abundant  opportunity  to 
learn.  An  excellent  principle  worth  recalling  in  this 
connection  is  that  wrong  practices  once  acquired  are  dif- 
ficult to  overcome,  just  as  wrong  traits  bred  into  a  herd 
require  a  long  time  for  eradication.  Slow,  but  sure,  is  a 
good  motto  for  the  swine  breeder. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  characteristic  the  breeder 
should  possess  is  love  for  his  work.  The  man  who 
is  not  willing  to  be  more  than  a  mere  owner  and  marketer 
of  his  swine  is  not  likely  to  make  any  large  gains.  He 
must  be  their  friend  as  well ;  one  whose  steps  they  learn 
to  recognize  and  whom  they  will  not  object  to  as  a  visitor. 
He  should  be  their  family  physician,  alert  to  ward  off 
any  of  the  maladies  that  swine  are  heir  to,  and  willing, 
if  needed,  to  get  up  in  the  middle  of  a  winter's  night  to 


l8  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

see  that  the  new  pigs  are  given  the  right  warmth  and 
care.  He  is  their  landlord,  and  they  will  not  pay  the  rent 
if  he  fails  to  furnish  proper  foods,  with  decent  housing 
and  exercise  grounds.  It  is  in  his  hands,  in  large  meas- 
ure, to  stunt  their  growth  and  make  scrubs  from  thor- 
oughbreds, or  to  bring  his  hogs  toward  that  perfection 
which  shall  give  him  an  emiable  reputation,  alike  at  the 
market,  in  the  show  yard,  on  the  farms  and  with  the  ag- 
ricultural press. 

It  is  frequently  said  there  is  no  "best  breed,"  but  that 
is  not  quite  true.  There  is  a  best  breed  for  every  man, 
but,  inasmuch  as  there  are  many  types  and  classes  of 
men,  it  is  but  natural  that  there  are  various  breeds  and 
types  of  swine.  Each  breed  possesses  some  character- 
istics, marketable  or  ornamental,  to  recommend  it,  but 
one  man's  taste  may  be  another's  dislike.  The  beginner 
should  choose  a  breed  with  characteristics  appealing  to 
his  individual  liking,  preferably  after  study  of  the  argu- 
ments presented  by  the  champions  of  various  breeds. 
Black,  red  or  white  color,  length,  form  or  set  of  ear, 
dish  of  face,  and  other  features  depend  in  their  rating 
upon  the  individual  breeder's  personal  taste ;  and  it  is 
well  for  him  to  be  sure  his  choice  suits  him.  Having 
made  his  choice,  he  should  then,  so  far  as  able  procure  the 
best  of  its  kind,  continue  with  the  breed  and  persistently 
aim  to  make  its  progeny  better  than  its  ancestors. 

THE   COMMON-SENSE   HOG 

After  all,  as  has  been  well  said  by  an  excellent  au- 
thority. SAvine  breeders,  with  all  their  breeding  and  feed- 
ing, tlicir  study  of  types,  families,  and  pedigrees,  should 


THE  BREEDER  AND  BREEDING  1 9 

keep  in  mind  the  common-sense  hog,  which  the  practical, 
e\eryclay  farmer,  who  cares  more  about  types  than 
breeds,  and  more  about  form  than  pedigree,  needs  must 
have,  and  in  the  end  will  have.  To  supply  the  farmer 
with  this  kind  of  a  hog  is  the  end  of  all  breeding.  It  is 
easily  possible  to  run  to  fancy  points  until  the  men  who 
dote  on  these  are  supplied;  in  the  end,  however,  it  is  the 
farmer's  ideal,  approved  by  the  packer,  that  is  accepted. 
Fundamentally,  the  farmer,  as  a  rule,  does  not  care 
whether  the  hog  wears  red,  white  or  black  hair ;  whether 
its  ears  hang  down  or  stand  uj) ;  whether  it  has  swirls 
and  cowlicks,  or  combs  its  hair  straight.  What  he  wants 
first  is  an  animal  with  constitution;  and  any  system  of 
breeding,  whether  inbreeding  or  outbreeding,  whether 
straight,  crooked  or  otherwise,  that  enfeebles  the  (Con- 
stitution is  the  kind  of  breeding  the  farmer  does  not 
want  in  his  herd.  To  closely  inbreed  or  line-breed 
ni.erely  for  the  development  of  some  particular  unim- 
portant marking,  curl  in  the  tail  or  droop  of  ear.  at  the 
same  time  weakening  the  constitution  or  dwarfing  the 
size,  is  to  venture  upon  dangerous  ground. 

The  farmer  does  not  care,  either,  for  hogs  "bred  in 
the  purple."  He  is  not  particular  whether  the  great 
grandsire  of  his  stock  sold  for  one.  three,  or  five  thou- 
sand dollars.  His  chief  interest  is  in  tiiis :  What  breed 
or  type  of  hogs,  for  the  care  and  feed  it  is  practicable 
for  me  in  my  situatio-i  to  give  them,  will  yield  the  largest 
return  in  pork  and  money?  He  is  furthermore  interested 


20  SWINE   IN    AMKRICA 

ill  ha\iiis;'  hogs  as  nearly  immune  from  disease  as  possi- 
ble, and  to  this  end  he  wants  those  w^ith  vigorous  consti- 
tutions ;  pigs  that  will  hght  each  other  for  the  best  teat 
before  they  are  a  day  old,  even  if  doing  so  leads  to  the 
vice  of  stealing  later.  He  does  not  hold  his  pigs  amen- 
able to  the  code  of  morals  enunciated  in  the  Sermon  on 
the  ]\Iount.  The  common-sense  hog  must  be  a  greedy 
fellow,  and  more  or  less  of  a  rustler  on  occasion.  He 
must  not  bs  an  animated  lard  keg,  a  gob  of  fat,  nor  a 
fastidious  loafer,  to  be  fed  on  dainties.  He  must  not  be 
delicate,  or  a  mincing  eater,  but  growthy,  vigorous, 
healthy,  and  as  good  a  looker  as  possible  consistent  with 
the  sterling  swine  virtues  mentioned. 

Breeders  of  any  breed  can  produce  this  type  if  they 
will.  The  farmer  has  his  fancies  to  a  limited  extent,  and 
breeders  can  furnish  him  the  hog  desired,  with  red, 
white  or  black  hair,  and  with  any  sort  of  an  ear  called 
for,  but  not  nearly  so  readily  if  they  keep  an  eye  too 
much  to  fashion,  or  to  fancy  pedigree.  If  from  any  of 
the  breeds  they  will  select  only  the  well-formed,  robust 
types,  and  consign  all  others  to  the  fattening  pen,  it  will 
not  be  very  many  generations  or  years  until  their  clients, 
the  farmers,  will  have  little  reason  to  complain  of  their 
hogs  being  too  delicate,  too  fine  in  the  bone,  too  short  in 
the  body,  or  too  long  in  the  legs. 

The  hog  is  the  most  plastic  ot  all  farm  animals.  In 
his  w^ild  state  he  is  of  unflinching  gameness,  an  intrepid 
fighter,  fleet  as  a  race  horse,  and  almost  as  cunning  as  a 
fox.  Our  ancestors  transformed  him  into  a  domestic 
animal,  and  adapted  him  to  their  use,  by  breeding,  selec- 


THE   BREEDER   AM)    BREEDING 

tion  and  feeding, 
an  animal  so  plastic  about  what  he  pleases,  and  the  farm- 
ers have  a  right  to  demand  that  usefulness  be  the  aim  of 
every  breeder  and  the  reason  for  every  purchase.  All 
admire  a  good-looking  hog,  and  there  is  no  reason  why 
good  looks  should  not  go  with  the  highest  usefulness,  but 
neither  good  looks  nor  fancy  breeding  should  stand  for  a 
moment  in  the  way  of  the  hog  that  combines  vigor  of 
constitution,  growthiness,  and  reasonably  early  maturity 
with  a  form  pleasing  to  the  eye  of  either  breeder  or  farm- 
er. When  we  come  to  the  final  test  of  beauty,  "pretty 
is  as  pretty  does."  The  prettiest  hog,  after  all,  is  the  one 
that  is  most  profitable;  the  one  that  makes  the  most  and 
best  pounds  of  gain  from  a  hundred  pounds  of  the  most 
inexpensive  dry  matter;  the  one  that  makes  the  largest 
contribution  toward  providing  for  the  family  necessities; 
toward  meeting  the  interest  on  the  mortgage,  and  to  pay- 
ing the  mortgage  itself;  for  the  addition  to  the  house,  the 
new  carpet,  the  piano  or  organ,  the  new  dresses  for  the 
girls,  or  for  their  education  at  school.  If  the  breeders 
of  any  breed  depart  from  this  practical  hog  they  make  a 
mistake,  for  sooner  or  later  the  common-sense  farmer 
will  demand  the  common-sense  hog.  waiving  any  prefer- 
ence he  may  have  for  points  merely  fanciful. 

THE    FECUNDITY    OF    SWINE 

No  other  farm  animal  increases  and  multiplies  so  rap- 
idly and  profitably  as  does  the  hog,  when  given  proper 
treatment.  It  is  probable  that  few  who  are  actually  in 
the  business  of  swine  breeding  fully  realize  the  ratio  of 
increase  of  which  swine  are  capable,  and  it  is  equally 


22  SWliXE  IN   AMKKICA 

probable  that  many  who  embark  in  the  business  begin 
with  a  larger  number  of  sows  than  their  situation  justi- 
fies, through  failure  to  realize  the  increase  easily  possible 
from  a  single  sow  and  her  progeny  within  a  compara- 
tively short  time. 

The  following  will  serve  to  show  what  such  increase 
may  be:  Beginning  with  a  sow  pig,  suppose  that  she 
and  all  her  female  increase  farrow  for  the  first  time 
when  they  are  a  year  old,  and  give  birth  to  a  litter  every 
six  months  thereafter,  and  that  each  litter  will  average 
six  pigs,  and  only  three  of  them  females.  At  the  end  of 
the  first  year  there  is  the  sow  and  six  pigs — three  males 
and  four  females.  In  i8  months  the  sow  has  a 
second  litter.  This  brings  the  total  up  to  seven  sows 
and  six  males.  At  the  end  of  two  years  the  original  sow 
has  her  third  litter,  and  each  of  the  three  sows  of  her 
first  litter  also  farrow.  This  gives  a  total  of  19  sows 
and  18  males.  In  two  years  and  a  half  the  three  sows  of 
I'ler  second  litter  are  old  enough  to  farrow.  This  brings 
the  number  up  to  40  females  and  39  males.  In  three 
years  the  sows  of  the  first,  second  and  third  litters  will 
farrow,  and  in  addition  the  nine  that  were  born  to  the 
three  of  the  first  litter.  This  increases  the  number  to 
97  females  and  96  males.  Thus  it  goes  on  in  progression, 
until  at  the  end  of  four  years  there  would  be  a  total  of 
502  females  and  501  males,  or  enough  hogs,  descendants 
from  the  one  sow  pig,  to  pay  for  a  good-sized  farm. 
"BACON"    HOGS    VERSUS    "LARD"    HOGS 

Since  about  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  there 
has  been  much  written  and  printed  in  advocacy  of  what 


THE  UREEDER  AND  BREEDING  23 

tlie  writers  term  "bacon"  hogs,  and  the  importance  if 
not  necessity  of  giving  more  attention  to  their  production 
and  less  to  what  are  disparagingly  designated  as  "lard" 
hogs;  extolling  the  higher  prices  and  the  virtues  of  lean 
pork  and  the  superiority  of  the  lean  or  non-fattening 
breeds  and  types,  including  Razor-Backs,  all  claimed  as 
yielding  the  much-coveted  streak  of  lean  and  streak  of 
fat.  The  eft'ect,  however,  of  this  propaganda  has  not 
l)een  widespread  in  the  United  States;  in  fact,  in  a  com- 
mercial way,  scarcely  perceptiljle.  Bacon  production  in 
America  from  what  breeders  term  the  "bacon"  breeds  is 
most  largely  a  Canadian  industry,  and  in  territory  where 
the  staple  swine  food  is  other  than  com. 

In  America  and  the  markets,  in  spite  of  proposed  re- 
forms, alleged  demand,  higher  prices  and  imagined  com- 
petition, the  type  and  style  of  hog  that  for  decades  has 
been  a  food  reliance  for  the  millions,  the  "lard" 
hog  of  the  corn  belt,  still  not  only  occupies  the 
stage,  but  fills  it.  The  feeling  existent  in  reference  to 
bacon  growing  is  well  expressed  by  a  Nebraska  editor, 
who  says :  "The  farmer  is  not  governed  in  his  work  to 
any  perceptible  extent  b)^  sentiment  or  fancy.  With  him 
it  is  a  plain  business  proposition  of  raising  crops  to  get 
the  largest  returns  in  dollars  and  cents  for  the  labor  and 
expense  put  into  the  work.  While  hog  raisers  like  to 
satisfy  tlieir  fancies  as  to  breed,  they  will  not  do  this 
with  a  plain  understanding  that  they  are  thereby  making 
a  money  sacrifice.  When  tlie  time  comes  that  there  is  a 
reh'al)le  special  market  established  for  the  bacon  hog, 
and  at  prices  that  will  justify  his  production  in  preference 


24 


SWINE  IN  AMERICA 


to  others,  then  tliere  will  be  converts  to  the  bacon-hog  in- 
dustry. This  must  be  demonstrated,  however,  by  a  very 
decided  advance  in  the  market  price  above  that  for  the 
widely  predominant  lard  hog." 


CHAPTER  III. 

Breeds^  Popularity  and  Distribution 

Breeders  of  the  leading-  breeds  of  swine  have  associa- 
tions for  registering;  the  pechgrees  of  the  best  of  their 
pure-bred  stock,  estabhshing  and  maintaining  standards 
of  excellence,  and  advancing-  tlie  merits  and  interests  of 
the  breeds  generally.  The  number  of  pure-bred  regis- 
tered hogs  in  America  is  perhaps  about  one-half  of  one 
per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  swine,  but  the  influence 
of  this  pin-c-bred  stock  is  vastly  more  important  than 
these  ligures  would  (~»n  their  face  seem  to  indicate. 

CHOICE   OF   BREEDS 

Every  breed  has  its  admirers  and  promoters,  who  urge 
its  excellence  and  adaptability.  The  question  of  the 
"best  breed"  will  always  be  open  for  discussion,  but 
success  in  swine  husbandr}^  depends  much  more  upon  the 
best  man  and  the  best  food  than  upon  this  or  that  breed. 
In  some  sections  certain  breeds  will  remain  the  most  pop- 
ular because  of  tlieir  adaptal)iHty  to  the  climate  of  these 
sections.  Thus,  in  that  part  of  the  United  States  west 
of  the  85th  meridian  the  white  hog  is  not  looked  upon 
with  favor,  because  there  white  swine  are  more  liable  to 
be  sun-scalded  or  to  have  scurvy,  if  not  mangy  skins.  In 
the  corn  belt  the  extreme  bacon  types  doubtless  will  never 
Ije   most   popular   because   their  characteristics   are  not 

25 


26  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

such  as  will  result  in  the  greatest  profit  from  the  material 
most  abundantly  at  hand.  In  selecting  a  breed  the  buy- 
er's personal  preference  is  likely  to  exert  a  controlling 
influence,  but  this  should  be  governed  by  his  location  and 
purposes,  although  the  characteristics  of  any  breed  can 
be  in  a  considerable  degree  modified  by  feeding  and 
environment. 

As  a  rule,  the  extensive  concerns  that  slaughter  the 
bulk  of  the  country's  hogs  have  but  slight  preference 
for  any  one  breed.  Questions  are  frequently  raised  as 
to  whether  the  red  hogs  are  supplanting  the  black  breeds, 
and  whether  the  white  types  are  on  the  increase,  and  the 
packers,  better  than  all  others,  are  in  position  to  observe 
the  facts.  The  following  opinions  of  different  packers 
on  these  questions  were  given  to  the  author  in  Septem- 
ber, 1907: 

Armour  &  Company.  Chicago — We  have  had  a  very 
decided  increase  of  red  hogs  and  hogs  of  red  mixture, 
particularly  in  the  last  two  or  three  years.  We  think 
about  25  per  cent  of  the  hogs  are  of  that  type.  We  see 
no  decided  increase  in  white  liogs.  Ten  per  cent  would 
cover  the  number,  and  the  remaining  65  per  cent  are  of 
black  or  black  mixtures.  We  have  no  preference  for 
breed  if  the  hogs  are  well  formed  and  well  fattened. 

Armour  Packing  Company,  Kansas  City — Sixty  per 
cent  of  the  hogs  received  at  the  Kansas  City  market  are 
black,  and  black  and  white  spotted,  black  predominating. 
Thirty  per  cent  are  red,  and  red  and  black  spotted,  and 
10  per  cent  are  white.  The  red  and  the  red  and  black 
spotted   hogs   are   increasing   in   numbers    every   year. 


BREEDS^  POPULARITY  AND  DISTRIBUTION  2/ 

White  hogs  sliow  no  material  increase.  The  demand 
for  the  pro(hict  makes  a  market  for  all  weights,  but  the 
300  to  325-poun(l  averages  are  most  desirable  in  the  fall 
and  winter.  Breed  counts  for  very  little  when  the  qual- 
ity is  the  same. 

Cudahy  Packing  Company,  Omaha — Our  buyers  state 
that  fully  70  per  cent  of  the  hogs  now  being  marketed 
and  that  have  been  marketed  for  some  time  past,  are  of 
red  or  brownish  color.  About  lo  per  cent  of  white 
hogs  are  being  received,  and  the  other  20  per  cent  are 
])lack  and  spotted.  The  increase  in  the  number  of  red 
hogs  has  been  somewhat  remarkable.  Twelve  or  15 
years  ago  hardly  10  per  cent  of  the  hogs  were  red,  but 
the  percentage  has  been  growing  larger  ever  since,  the 
farmers  of  this  territory  evidently  feeling  that  red  hogs 
were  hardier  and  of  a  better  breed  than  those  formerly 
raised.  Inhere  has  also  jjeen  an  increase  in  the  number 
of  wln'te  hogs,  compared  with  former  years,  but  on  no 
such  scale  as  that  of  the  red  hogs.  At  certain  seasons  of 
the  year  a  decided  preference  is  given  300  to  325-pound 
properly  fattened  hogs  at  12  months;  on  the  other  hand, 
or  taking  it  at  the  present  time,  they  would  sell  at  a  big 
discount,  compared  with  light  hogs,  partly  on  account  of 
the  length  of  time  it  W(nild  require  to  cure  a  heavy  hog, 
compared  with  a  light  one,  the  spot  or  nearby  quotations 
on  provisions  being  higher  than  the  distant  ones.  On 
the  whole,  however,  well-fattened  hogs,  unless  they  are 
old  sows,  are  always  salable. 

Fowler  Packing  Company,  Kansas  City — We  estimate 
black  and  spotted  hogs  represent  about  85  per  cent  of  the 


28  SWIXE   IX   AMERICA 

receipts,  red  and  spotted  hogs  about  14  per  cent,  and 
white,  say  about  i  per  cent,  although  there  are  so  few 
of  the  latter  coming  to  market  now  they  are  hardly  no- 
ticeable. There  has  been  a  very  decided  increase  during 
the  last  two  years  in  the  number  of  red  or  red-spotted 
hogs  marketed.  Prior  to  that,  the  increase  was  very 
small.  We  arc  receiving  less  white  hogs  in  recent  years 
than  formerly.  As  a  breed,  we  prefer  the  Berkshires  or 
Poland-Chinas. 

Kingan  &  Company,  Limited.  Indianapolis — Our  buy- 
ers estimate  the  approximate  percentage  of  the  different 
colored  hogs  found  in  this  market  at  the  present  time 
as  follows :  Black  45  per  cent,  red  and  red  mixed  50  per 
cent,  and  white  5  per  cent.  They  give  it  as  their  opinion 
that  there  has  been  a  notable  increase  in  the  red-mixed 
variet}^  during  the  past  few  years,  but  possibh^  a  decrease 
in  the  number  of  pure  red  hogs.  Speaking  as  a  wdiole, 
however,  there  is  no  doubt  that  there  has  been  a  decided 
increase  in  the  reds.  As  to  white  hogs,  the  buyers  say  they 
are  decreasing,  and  have  been  slowly  for  years  past.  They 
are  unpopular  with  the  breeders,  as  they  cannot  with- 
stand so  well  the  extremes  of  climate,  being  of  a  more 
delicate  nature  than  either  the  reds  or  blacks.  Our  opin- 
ion is  that  the  Berkshire  hog  is  the  most  suitable  of  all 
for  the  packer,  regardless  of  size. 

Morris  &  Company,  Chicago — In  the  past  five  years 
the  red  and  red  mixture  have  been  very  much  on  the  in- 
crease. In  fact,  about  35  per  cent  of  our  receipts  are  of 
this  kind,  45  to  50  per  cent  black  and  less  than  5  per 
cent  white,  the  remainder  being  of  mixed  breeding  and 


A   Champion   Yearling  Chester  Wliite  Sow 


A  Pen  of  Chester  White  Boars 


BREEDS.  POPULARITY  AND  DISTRIBUTION  29 

color.  Tlie  hogs'  breed  and  color  make  no  difference 
to  the  packer,  providing  they  are  well  bred  and  properly 
finished.  Hogs  of  all  breeds  and  colors  sell  at  the  ex- 
treme top  of  the  market,  but  this  is  not  true  with  the 
heavy  hogs  at  this  particular  time  of  the  year. 

Morris  &  Company,  East  St.  Louis — There  has  been  a 
notable  increase  in  the  number  of  hogs  of  red  mixtures 
received  at  this  point  in  the  past  two  or  three  years.  The 
approximate  percentage  at  the  present  time  probably 
would  be  30  per  cent  of  red  mixed  and  5  per  cent  white, 
and  the  rest  black.  There  has  been  very  little  increase 
in  the  number  of  white  hogs  this  season.  Very  few 
hogs  come  to  this  market  weighing  300  to  325  pounds 
that  are  not  older  than  12  months.  If  hogs  are  prime, 
we  have  no  preference  as  to  breed. 

Scliwarzschild  &  Sulzberger  Company,  Kansas  City — 
In  estimating  the  percentage  of  different  colored  hogs 
offered  on  this  market  we  would  judge  them  to  he  60 
per  cent  black,  35  per  cent  red  and  5  per  cent  white. 
There  has  been  a  notable  increase  in  the  number  of  red 
hogs,  and  a  material  decrease  in  the  number  of  white 
hogs.  We  consider  the  red  hogs  rather  coarse  when 
heavier  than  300  pounds,  and  believe  we  would  have  a 
slight  preference  for  the  other  breeds. 

Swift  &  Company,  Chicago — This  year's  purchase  of 
hogs  on  the  Chicago  market  would  show  approximately 
50  per  cent  black,  30  per  cent  red  and  20  per  cent  white. 
Red  and  white  hogs  are  on  the  increase.  We  have  no 
particular  preference  as  to  breed. 


3q 


SWINE  IN  AMERICA 


Swift  &  Company,  Kansas  City — We  estimate  the  per- 
centage of  colored  hogs  at  our  market  as  follows :  Black 
55  per  cent,  red  35  per  cent  and  white  10  per  cent.  There 
is  a  noticeable  increase  of  red  hogs,  but  no  increase  in 
the  number  of  wliite  hogs.  The  breed  of  a  well-formed 
hog,  weighing  from  300  to  325  pounds,  does  not  make 
any  particular  difference  to  the  packer. 

Suggesting,  in  a  measure,  the  popularity  of  the  differ- 
ent breeds  in  different  states  or  localities,  and  perhaps 
something  as  to  the  ratio  of  their  numbers  in  the  various 
sections  of  the  country  to  which  it  refers,  is  the  following 
ta])le.  showing  the  number  of  each  breed  exhibited  at  the 
state  or  prominent  fairs  named,  in  the  year  1907* 


Fair  or  Exhibition 

c 
15 

1 

.1 

1 
0 

1 

0 

1 

J 

1 
a 
E 

Hi 

X 

1 
0 

> 

5 

Iowa 

989 
192 
438 
517 
253 
373 
155 
675 
409 
222 
50 

254 
50 
56 
2 
46 

138 

4,719 

1,205 
85 
247 
738 
407 
404 
152 
449 
220 
286 

287 
44 
16 

11 
71 

37 

4,659 

497 
85 
61 
155 
148 
171 
92 
272 
57 
142 

96 
131 
30 
3 
55 

_!! 

2,023 

148 
38 
102 
101 
100 
169 
125 
223 
96 
129 
61 

17 
45 
39 
36 
98 

71 

1,598 

67 

48 

56 
38 

45 

lOi 
98 

17 
470 

98 
37 
62 

15 

Vi 

3 

40 
11 

12 

20 

335 

\ 

86 
85 

60 
4 

29 
47 
315 

43 
16 

35 
22 

110 

22 

22 

Ohio 

Illinois. 

Indiana       .          .... 

Sioux  City  Inter- 
State  Fair 

New  Jersey 

Washington 

39 

No.  Carolina 

Kentucky 

International  Live 
Stock  Show,  Chicago 

Total 

8 

47 

Barrows  exclusively. 


BREEDS,   roPULARITY  AND  DISTRIBUTION 


31 


A  further  suggestion  is  afforded  by  a  census  of  the 
pure-bred  swine  in  Indiana,  in  June,  1907,  as  reported  by 
the  state  bureau  of  statistics,  which  showed  in  that  typical 
swine-growing  state,  24,632  Poland-Chinas,  26,729  Du- 
roc-Jerseys,  7,834  Chester  Whites,  4,811  Berkshires,  76 
1  am  worths,  168  Yorkshires,  337  Hampshires,  240  Essex, 
47  Victorias,  21  Suffolks  and  229  Mule-Foots. 

Careful  estimates  made  by  De  Witt  C.  Wing,  an  editor 
of  the  Breeder's  Gazette,  of  the  numbers  of  living  regis- 
tered pure-bred  swine  in  iVmerica,  of  the  different  breeds, 
at  the  beginning  of  1909,  were  as  follows  :  Poland-China, 
70.000;  Duroc-Jersey,  60,000;  Berkshire,  15,000;  Chester 
While,  10,000;  Hampshire,  3,000;  Large  Yorkshire, 
2,000;  Tamworth,  3,800.     Grand  total,  163,800. 


A    Chester    White    Boar,  as    Portrayed    in    1870 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Breeds  and  Types 

Although  the  hog  is  older  than  history,  his  conspicuous 
improvement  through  selection  and  judicious  breeding 
is  a  feature  of  the  last  half  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Since  1840,  in  the  United  States,  and  in  great  part  since 
1875,  the  advances  made  in  swine  husbandry  are  quite 
as  remarkable  in  their  way  as  those  in  any  other  line  of 
endeavor 

By  some  of  the  ancient  nations  the  hog  was  considered 
a  sacred  animal.  By  others  it  was  regarded  as  unclean, 
and  prohil)itcd  as  food.  This  prohibition  among  the 
Jews  was  regarded  by  Tacitus  and  others  as  having  been 
because  of  a  feeling  that  pork  was  often  unfit  to 
eat  in  warm  climates,  and  apt  to  encourage  the  spread 
of  leprosy.  Moses  is  thought  to  have  forbidden  the  eat- 
ing of  pork  because  it  was  liable  to  give  the  Israelites 
diseases  that  would  make  them  unable  to  endure  the  long 
march  out  of  Egypt.  In  those  days,  when  cooking  was 
crudely  done,  there  was  no  doubt  much  reason  to  fear 
trichina 

The  original  wild  hog  was  generally  rather  small  and 
of  a  slaty  color.  Environment  changed  his  size  and 
color  according  to  the  climate  and  the  difficulty  in  ob- 
taining sustenance.  Thus,  in  a  tropical  region  wiiere 
luxuriant  herbage  made  it  easier  to  obtain  food,  the  hog 

32 


BREEDS  AND  TYPES  33 

waxed  fatter  than  in  the  forests  farther  north,  where  to 
maintain  himself  he  was  compelled  to  roam  more  widel}- 
and  venture  into  more  dangerous  regions.  For  the  same 
reason  the  color  or  the  tropical  hog  is  said  to  have 
changed  toward  black,  giving  him  better  protection 
against  the  heat  of  the  sun. 

Under  domestication,  even  in  earlier  days,  when  no 
attention  was  paid  to  the  development  of  characteristics 
especially  desirable,  decided  changes  came  about.  The 
princi])al  changes  attributable  to  domestication  of  swine 
are  given  in  the  following  summary  by  Prof.  Thomas 
Shaw,  in  his  book,  "The  Study  of  Breeds":  "(i)  The 
ears  become  less  movable,  the  tusks  and  muscles  of  the 
neck  diminish  in  size,  the  back  and  sides  lengthen,  the 
flank  and  hindquarters  deepen,  the  body  becomes  less 
capacious,  the  limbs  grow  shorter,  the  bristles  are  par- 
tially or  wholly  removed,  and  the  animal  becomes  much 
less  active.  (2)  The  stomach  and  intestines  enlarge, 
they  desire  more  food,  and  the  tendency  to  obesity  in- 
creases. (3)  The  male  loses  the  solitary  habit,  the  fe- 
male breeds  more  frequently,  has  larger  litters,  and  they 
seek  their  food  in  the  day." 

Most  of  the  breeds  now  known  in  America  may  be 
traced  back  to  or  through  those  of  Great  Britain,  and 
the  latter  were  chiefly  improved  by  crossing  Chinese  or 
Neapolitan  boars  upon  the  native  sows.  The  Chinese  were 
used  mostly  in  the  modification  of  the  white  stock  and 
the  Neapolitans  in  improving  the  black  sorts.  These 
boars  were  smaller  than  the  native  British  stock,  and  had 
the  effect  of  refining  the  structure  and  flesh  of  their  off- 
spring, while  enhancing  the  fattening  qualities. 


34  SWINK  IN  AMIlRICA 

CLASSIFICATION    AND    RANK    OF    BREEDS 

Breeds  in  the  United  States  are  variously  classilied, 
sometimes  according  to  size  and  color,  and  at  times  by 
comparisi)n  of  their  respective  aljility  to  produce  lard  or 
bacon 

If  classified  according  to  size,  the  Poland-Chinas. 
Chester  Whites,  Tamvvorths.  Duroc-Jerseys,  Yorkshires, 
and  most  of  the  modern  Berkshires  would  be  grouped 
together  as  large  hogs;  the  Small  Yorkshires  (or  Suf- 
folks)  and  Essex  as  small  hogs;  with  the  Middle  York- 
shire, Victoria  and  Cheshire  as  medium  breeds. 

The  Tamworth  and  Yorkshire,  and  sometimes  the 
Berkshire  and  Chester  Whitfe,  are  classified  as  bacon 
hogs,  and  the  other  breeds  as  lard  hogs,  although  the 
two  breeds  last  named  are  more  frequently  in  the  corn 
belt  classified  as  lard  hogs.  The  locality  in  which  the 
hogs  are  raised  has  more  to  do  with  this  classification, 
than  any  distinctness  of  breed  type,  as  any  hog  Avill 
assume  more  or  less  of  the  characteristics  of  one  type 
or  the  other,  depending  much  on  whether  it  is  raised 
upon  corn  and  other  concentrates  or  is  given  less  fatten- 
ing food. 

In  color,  Poland-Chinas  and  Berkshires  are  now 
practically  the  same,  viz.,  chiefiy  black,  with  a  dash  of 
white  on  the  face  or  jowl,  feet,  ankles  and  brush  of  tail : 
the  Essex  are  entirely  black ;  Chester  Whites,  ^'(~)rk- 
shires,  Victorias  and  Cheshires  wholly  white  ;  the  1  )nroc- 
Jenseys  and  Tamworths,  red,  bronze  or  sandy:  and 
Hampshires.  black,  with  a  broad  belt  of  silvery  white 
across  the  shoulders  and  extending  downward  the  length 


BREEDS  AND  TYPES  35 

of  the  forelegs  and  feet.     Some  strains  of  lianipsliircs 
ha\  e  white  markings  other  than  those  mentioned. 

Ranked  according  to  their  numbers  and  popularity,  the 
breeds  of  swine,  or  their  grades,  most  largely  raised  in 
America  in  the  first  decade  of  the  twentieth  century  are 
llic  Poland-China,  Berkshire,  Duroc-Jersey  and  Chester 
White.  Of  these,  the  Berkshire  is  directly  of  English 
origin,  while  the  other  three  may  be  termed  American 
breeds. 

CHESTER  WHITES 

The  Chester  White  breed  had  its  beginning  about  1820, 
or  slightly  earlier,  in  Chester  county,  PennsyK'^ania,  by  the 
use  of  some  white  boars  brought  from  Bedfordshire, 
England,  for  crossing  upon  the  better  class  of  sows  then 
reared  in  Chester  county,  and  mostly  white.  By  careful 
selection  and  mating,  during  the  ensuing  forty  years,  the 
more  painstaking  of  the  thrifty  Quakers,  who  found  a 
market  in  Philadelphia  for  their  surplus  swine,  had  a 
stock  quite  uniform  and  notable  in  its  characteristics. 
These  were :  Length  and  good  size,  growthiness,  good 
breeding  qualities,  remarkably  quiet  and  gentle  dispo- 
sitions, short  legs,  rather  large,  coarse  ears,  drooped  so 
much  as  to  almost  obscure  the  eyes,  and  hair  usually 
abundant  and  not  too  coarse,  frequently  quite  curly  or 
wavy  and  always  silvery  white,  although  the  skin  itself 
might  sometimes  show  here  and  there  a  brown  spot  or 
freckle 

Following  the  Civil  war.  these  Pennsylvania  hogs 
had  a  wide  reputation,  which  was  largely  added  to  by 
shrewd  advertising.      As  the  supply  was  confined  to  but 


^6  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

two  or  three  counties  and  was,  therefore,  quite  limited, 
tlie  demand  was  met  by  shipment  from  speculators  and 
others  of  almost  any  sort  of  white  pigs  that  could  be 
found,  especially  if  the  pigs  had  large  ears.  Nonde- 
scripts of  this  kind  were  distributed  over  the  country  as 
pure-bred  Chester  Whites,  and  in  consequence  the  repu- 
tation of  the  breed  received  a  backset,  from  which  it  has 
never  fully  recovered.  A  few  of  the  original  breeders 
kept  some  of  the  pure  stock,  persevering  in  its  breeding 
and  improvement  until  now  they  have  better  Chesters 
than  were  known  in  the  earlier  days,  and  the  demand  for 
and  appreciation  of  them  is  steady. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  war  some  northern 
Ohio  men  began  crossing  the  Chester  county  hogs  on 
stock  found  in  their  locality,  and  the  descendants  of  these 
are  now  recognized  as  a  breed  somewhat  distinct  from 
the  others  and  designated  as  the  "Ohio  Improved 
Chester,"  or  more  briefly  as  the  "O.  I.  C."  swine.  In  a 
general  way,  these  are  not  now  essentially  different  from 
the  swine  descended  wholly  from  the  Chester  county 
stock,  but  it  may  be  that  the  best  of  them  have  slightly 
more  compactness  and  a  less  lubberly  style,  fatten  more 
quickly,  and  reproduce  themselves  with  equal  certainty. 
At  the  same  time,  only  the  man  who  had  reared  a  given 
animal  could  from  its  appearance  alone  be  positive  as  to 
which  family  of  Chesters  it  belonged.  There  are  many 
high-class  individuals  in  both,  while,  as  in  all  other 
breeds,  some  are  unworthy  of  propagation. 

The  Chesters  of  either  family  are  appropriately  classed 
among  the  largest  swine  known.     The  ordinary  weights 


BREEDS  AND  TYPES  37 

when  mature  range  from  500  to  600  pounds,  but  much 
heavier  weights  are  by  no  means  uncommon,  and  indi- 
viduals weighing  as  much  as  1,000  pounds  or  even  more 
have  not  been  rare.  This  is  not  mentioned  as  an  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  this,  or  any  other  large  breed,  as  the 
chances  are  that  weight  above  500  pounds,  put  on  any 
hog,  returns  little  profit,  and  the  pork  added  from  feed 
given  a  hog  weighing  600  pounds  is  likely  to  represent 
a  cost  far  greater  than  its  money  return.  Experiments 
and  experience  have  long  since  taught  the  teachable  that 
it  is  the  feed  given  to  young  and  growing  animals  which 
returns  the  quick  and  large  gains,  and  profit. 

In  an  early  day  the  author  had  considerable  experience 
with  Chester  Whites,  perhaps  as  good  individuals  as 
Chester  county  afforded,  on  a  Kansas  farm  where  con- 
ditions were  quite  primitive,  and  proved  that  these  swine 
had  many  characteristics  extremely  likable,  but  they  were 
discarded  as  other  white  breeds  have  been,  for  their  one 
conspicuous  defect,  name!}-.  snsceptil)ility  to  skin  disease, 
especially  mange.  The  wind,  sun  and  mud  and  other 
exposure  they  encountered  on  the  ordinary  pioneer's 
prairie  farm  told  severely  against  the  hardiest  of  them; 
but  this  does  not  prove  that  judicious  management  and 
breeding  may  not  do  much  to  rid  them  of  their  seeming 
tenderness,  if  it  -has  not  been  already  accomplished. 
Tliere  is  no  herd  of  swine  more  attractive  than  one  of 
well-bred,  well-fed,  healthy,  latter-day  Chester  Whites. 

The  standard  of  excellence,  scale  of  points  and  de- 
tailed description  for  Chester  Whites,  adopted  by  the 
American  Chester  White  Record  Association,  read  as 
follows : 


3^ 


SWIxXE  lx\  AMERICA 


I'MinU 
Head:     Short,  brf)afl  between  the  eyes,  and  nicely  tapering  from  eyes  tu 

point  of  nose;  face  slightly  dished;  cheeks  full S  . 

Eyes:     Large,  bright  and  free  from  overgrowing  fat 2  . 

Ears:     Drooping;  thin;  pointing  outward  apd  forward;  well  proportioned 

to  size  of  body 2  . 

Jowl:     Full,  firm  and  neat,  carrying  fullness  well  back  to  neck  and  brisket.  .  3  . 

AVcfe;     Full,  deep,  short  and  well  arched 3 . 

Brisket:     Full;  strong;  well  let  down;  extending  well  forward  and  on  line 

of  the  belly 3 . 

Shoulders:     Broad;  deep;  thickness  in  proportion  to  the  side  and  ham;  full 

and  even  on  top 6. 

Girth  around    Heart:     Full  back  of  shoulders;  ribs  extending  well  down; 

wide  and  full  back  of  forelegs 10. 

Back:     Broad,  straight  or  slightly  arched,  carrying  width  well  back  to  tlic 

hams,  and  of  medium  length 7 . 

Sides:     Full,  deep,  carrying  width  and  thickness  well  down  and  back 6. 

Ribs:     Well  sprung,  carrying  fullness  well  back,  and  deep 7 . 

Belly:     Wide  and  straight,  width  approximating  that  of  the  back 4. 

Flank  and  Loin:     Flank  well  let  down  and  full;  loin  broad,  strong  and  full; 

measure  of  flank  girth  equal  to  heart  girth 10. 

Hams:     Broad,  full,  deep,  of  medium  length;  coming  down  well  over  hock  10. 

Limbs:  Medium  length,  short  rather  than  long;  set  well  apart  and  well 
under;  mviscles  full  above  knee  and  hock;  bone  firm  and  not  coarse;  pasterns 

short  and  strong;  feet  short 7 . 

Tail:     Small,  tapering,  smooth  and  well  set  on 2 

Coat :     Fine  and  thick 3  . 

Color:  White.  (Blue  spots  in  skin,  and  black  specks  shall  not  argue  im- 
purity of  blood) 1 . 

Action :     Easy,  prompt,  fine  and  graceful 5  . 

Symmetry:     Uniform  build,  and  all  points  in  animal  in  proportion i. 

Total 100. 

A  standard,  scale  and  description  for  "O.  I.  C."  swine,  adopted  by  the  Ohio 
Improved  Chester  Swine  Breeders'  Association,  reads: 

Points 

Color:  White.  Black  spots  in  hair  disqualify,  but  blue  spots  itt  hide 
(freckles'),  while  objectionable,  do  not  argue  impurity 2 . 

Head  and  Face:  Head  short  and  wide;  cheeks  neat  (not  too  full);  jaws 
broad  and  strong;  forehead  medium,  high  and  wide;  face  short  and  smooth; 
wide  between  the  eyes,  which  should  be  prominent,  clear  and  bright,  and  free 
from  surrounding  fat;  nose  neat,  tapering  and  slightly  dished 5 . 

Ears:  Medium  size,  soft,  not  too  thick,  not  clumsy,  pointing  forward  and 
slightly  outward,  drooping  gracefully  and  fully  under  control  of  the  animal.  .  .      2 

Brisket:     Full,  well  let  down  and  joined  well  to  jowl  in  line  with  belly 3 

Jowl:     Smooth,  neat,  firm  and  full,  carrying  fullness  well  back  to  shoulders 
brisket  when  head  is  carried  up  level 2 

Neck:  Wide,  deep,  short  and  nicely  arched;  neatly  tapering  from  head 
to  sh(iuldcr 3 

Shotildcrs:  Broad,  deep  and  full,  extending  in  line  with  the  side,  and  caiTy- 
ing  size  down  to  line  of  belly 6 

Chest  and  Heart  Girth:  Full  around  the  heart  and  back  of  the  shoulders; 
ribs  extending  well  down;  wide  and  full  back  of  fore  legs 10 

Back:  Broad,  straight  or  slightly  arched  and  of  uniform  width;  free  from 
lumps  or  rolls;  same  height  and  width  at  shoulders  as  at  ham 7 

Sides:  Full,  smooth  and  deep,  carrying  size  do\\Ti  to  line  of  belly;  even  with 
line  of  ham  and  shoulder 5 

Ribs:     Long;  well  sprung  at  top  and  bottom,  giving  animal  a  square  form .  ..     7 

Loin :     Broad  and  full 7 

Belly:  Same  width  as  back;  full  and  straight;  drooping  as  low  at  flank  as 
at  bottom  of  chest;  line  of  lower  ed.Te  running  parallel  with  sides 4 

Flank:     Full  and  even  with  body 2 

Ham  and  Rump:  Broad,  full,  long,  wide  a"d  deep,  admitting  of  no  swells; 
buttocks  full,  neat  and  clean;  stifle  well  covered  with  flesh,  nicely  tapering 
toward  the  hock;  rump  slightly  rounding  from  loin  to  root  of  tail,  same  width 
as  back,  making  an  even  line  with  sides 10 


Jo 
id  I 


BREEDS  AXU  TYPES  39 

Points 

Tail:  Small,  smooth,  nicely  tapering;  root  slightly  covered  with  flesh;  car- 
ried in  a  curl 2 . 

Legs:  Medium  lengtli;  strong  and  straight;  set  well  apart  and  well  under 
body;  bone  of  good  size,  firm,  and  well  muscled;  wide  above  knee  and  hock, 
round  and  tapering  below  knee  and  hock,  enabling  the  animal  to  carry  its 
weight  with  ease;  pasterns  short  and  nearly  upright    S 

Feet:     Short,  firm  and  tough;  animal  standing  well  up  on  toes 8 . 

Coat:  Fine;  either  straight  or  wavy,  with  preference  for  straight;  evenly 
distributed  and  covering  the  body  well;  nicely  clipped  coats  no  objection.  ...      3. 

Action:  Easy  and  graceful;  high  carriage;  active;  gentle  and  easily  handled. 
In  males  testicles  should  be  readily  seen  and  of  same  size  and  carriage 3 . 

Symmetry :  A  fit  proportion  of  the  several  parts  of  the  body  to  each  other, 
f  irming  a  harmonious  combination 4  . 

Total 100 . 

POLAND-CHINAS 

Much  discussion,  some  of  it  quite  acrimonious,  has 
taken  place  in  earlier  years  as  to  the  origin  of  this  breed 
and  tiie  proper  placing-  of  credit  for  its  upbuilding.  "J'his 
has  resulted  in  several  Poland-China  breed  associations 
and  records.  It  is  unquestioned,  however,  that  the  breed 
originated  in  Butler  and  Warren  counties,  Ohio,  and  its 
establishment  was  well  summed  up  by  the  late  John  M. 
Millikin,  a  local  historian  and  an  observant  and  promi- 
nent citizen  for  more  than  half  a  century.  In  1877,  Mr. 
Millikin,  after  an  extensive  research  covering  the  be- 
ginnings of  the  breed,  its  material  and  make-ui),  wrote  to 
the  author  as  follows : 

"The  truth  is,  no  one  man  can  say  he  had  more  t(j  do 
with  the  formation  of  this  breed  than  another.  It  was 
llie  result  of  the  labors  of  many.  It  grew  out  of  the  in- 
troduction of  the  China  hogs  by  the  Shakers  of  Union 
Village,  their  crossing-  with  the  Russian  and  Byfield,  and 
the  subsequent  crossing  with  the  Berkshires  and  with  the 
Irish  Graziers.  After  1841  or  1842,  these  breeds  ceased 
to  exist  in  either  Butler  or  Warren  counties  and  have  had 
nothing  wiiatever  to  do  with  the  Poland-China  breed  for 
the  last  34  years." 


40  SWINE    IN    Ai\I ERICA 

Controversies  as  to  the  precise  crosses  and  by  whom 
and  under  what  particular  circumstances  they  may  have 
been  made,  prior  to  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  to 
form  the  breed,  may  interest  a  few;  but  what  is  vastly 
more  important  to  the  practical  swine  breeder  is  the  fact 
that  there  was  produced  a  race  of  swine  now  bearing 
the  name  of  Poland-China  that  has  been  able  to  hold 
its  own  for  three-fifths  of  a  century  as  the  most  popular 
and  most  widely  distributed  pork-making  machine  in  the 
foremost  pork-producing  region  of  the  world. 

It  has  been  called  by  numerous  different  local  names, 
among  these  being  "Butler  County,"  Warren  County," 
"Miami  Valley,"  "Poland,"  "Poland  and  China,"  "Great 
Western,"  "Shaker,"  "Union  Village,"  "Dick's  Creek," 
"Gregory's  Creek,"  "Magie"  and  "Moore."  "Big 
Chinas"  were  brought  to  Ohio  about  1816  by  a  member 
of  the  Shaker  society  in  Butler  county.  These  were 
white  hogs,  with  some  black  or  sandy  spots.  They  were 
of  medium  size  and  of  excellent  form  and  quality,  and 
were  crossed  by  the  Shakers  on  the  Russian  and  Byfield 
stock,  with  superior  results.  The  Irish  Grazier  was 
brought  to  Ohio  about  22  or  2^  years  later  from 
Ireland.  Berkshires  were  brought  alxnit  the  same 
time  from  New  York.  The  foreign  blood,  as  pure- 
bred, was  soon  extinct,  and  the  hog  that  is  now  known 
as  the  Poland-China  was  developed  by  combinations  of 
the  various  breeds  or  families  mentioned.  In  1872  the 
name  "Poland-China"  was  adopted  at  a  National  Swine 
Breeders'  convention  in  Indianapolis. 


BREEDS    AND    TYPES  4 1 

The  Poland-China  is  a  large  breed  hog,  weighing  at 
maturity,  alive,  500  to  1,000  pounds.  It  has  reasonably 
early  maturity  and  is  much  liked  throughout  the  corn- 
producing  sections  of  the  United  States  For  crossii^g 
1j\-  other,  breeds  the  Poland-China  sows  have  a  popularity 
nut  surpassed  by  those  of  any  other.  They  have 
the  liardiness,  docility  and  good  feeding  qualities  that 
])reeders  like,  and  Poland-China  sires  transmit  these  qual- 
ities to  their  get  from  sows  of  any  breed.  For  these 
reasons  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  marketed  hogs  in 
the  United  States  have  Poland-China  blood. 

In  some  ways  the  refinement  of  this  breed,  or  rather 
some  families  of  it,  has  been  carried  too  far,  and  their 
breeders  are  severely  criticised  for  over-developing  fan- 
ciful points  to  the  exclusion  or  neglect  of  others  more 
important,  resulting  in  diminished  size,  vigor  and  prolifi- 
cacy; but  the  tendency  at  the  present  writing  is  to  guard 
against  or  overcome  this  by  more  intelligent  management. 

Prior  to  about  the  year  1870  the  Poland-Chinas  a\'er- 
aged  larg-er  than  now,  were  inclined  to  coarseness,  or 
sponginess  of  bone,  had  much  heavier,  drooping  ears,  and 
were  spotted  with  about  even  proportions  of  black  and 
white.  Since  then  the  tendency  each  year  has  been  to 
breed  them  with  more  black,  until  now  those  in  highest 
esteem  ha\-e  identically  the  color  and  markings  so  long 
characteristic  of  tlie  Berkshires,  viz.,  solid  black,  with 
white  feet,  white  tip  of  tail,  a  little  white  on  or  about 
the  face  and  jowl,  and  occasionally  a  splash  of  wliite 
elsewhere.  Their  ears  are  medium  or  small  in  size,  but 
still  drooping,  and  are  plial)le  and  silky.     A.  C.  Moore 


42  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

of  Fulton  county,  Illinois,  and  D.  M.  Alagie  of  Butler 
county,  Ohio,  were  the  men  who,  by  judicious  selection, 
careful  breeding  and  extensive  exhibiting-  and  advertis- 
ing, probably  did  most  to  bring  this  stock  of  hogs,  in 
its  early  days,  to  wide  and  favorable  public  attention. 

Following  are  the  standard  of  excellence,  detailed  de- 
scription and  scale  of  points  for  Poland-Chinas,  adopted 
by  the  National  Association  of  Expert  Judges  : 

Points 

Head:  Broad,  even  and  smooth  between  and  above  the  eyes.  Slightly 
dished,  tapering  evenly  and  gradually  to  near  end  of  nose.  Broad  lower  jaw. 
Head  inclined  to  shortness,  but  not  enough  to  give  the  appearance  of  stubby 
nose.     In  male  a  masculine  expression 4 . 

Eyes:     Full,  clear,  prominent  and  expressive 2 

Ears:  Attached  to  head  by  a  short,  firm  knuckle,  giving  free  and  easy 
action.  Standing  up  slightly  at  the  base  to  within  two-thirds  of  the  tip,  where 
a  gentle  break  or  drop  should  occur;  in  size  neither  too  large  nor  too  small,  but 
even,  fine,  thin,  leaf-shaped.      Slightly  inclined  outward 2  . 

Neck:  Short,  wide,  even,  smooth,  well  arched.  Rounding  and  full  from 
poll  to  shoulder,  with  due  regard  to  the  characteristics  of  the  sex 2. 

fowl:  Full,  broad,  deep,  smooth  and  firm,  carrying  fullness  back  near  to 
point  of  shoulders  and  below  line  of  lower  jaw,  so  that  lower  line  will  be  as  low 
as  breastbone  when  head  is  carried  up  level .' 2. 

Shoulders:  Broad,  oval  at  top,  showing  evenness  with  back  and  neck,  good 
width  from  top  to  bottom  and  even  smoothness  extending  well  forward fi. 

Chest:  Large,  wide,  deep  and  full;  even  underline  to  shoulder  and  sides,  with 
no  creases;  plenty  of  room  for  heart  and  other  organs;  large  girth.  Brisket 
smooth,  even  and  broad;  wide  between  legs  and  well  forward,  showing  in  front.    12 . 

Back  and  Loin:  Broad,  straight  or  slightly  arched,  carrying  same  width 
from  shoulder  to  ham,  surface  even,  smooth,  free  from  lumps,  creases  or  pro- 
jections; not  too  Ion?  but  broad  on  top,  indicating  well-sprung  ribs;  should 
not  be  higher  at  hip  than  at  shoulder  and  should  fill  out  at  junction  with  side  so 
that  a  straight  edge  placed  along  at  top  of  side  will  touch  all  the  way  from 
point  of  shoulder  to  point  of  ham;  should  be  shorter  than  lower  belly  line..  ...    14. 

Sides  and  Ribs:  Sides  full,  firm  and  deep,  free  from  wrinkles;  carrying 
size  down  to  belly;  even  from  ham  to  shoulder;  ribs  of  good  length,  well  sprung 
at  top  and  bottom ., 10 . 

Belly  and  Flank:  Belly  broad,  straight  and  full,  indicating  capacity  and 
room,  being  about  the  same  or  on  a  level  at  the  flank  with  underline  of  the  chest. 
Underline  straight,  or  nearly  so,  and  free  from  flabby  appearance 4. 

Hams  and  Rump:  Hams  broad,  full,  deep  and  long  from  rump  to  hock. 
Fullv  developed  above  and  below;  wide  at  point  of  hip  carrying  width  well 
down  to  the  lower  part  of  the  hams.  Fleshy,  plump,  rounding  fullness  percep- 
tible evervwhere.  Rump  rounding  and  gradually  sloping  from  loin  to  root  of 
tail.  Broad  and  well  developed  all  along  from  loin  and  gradually  rounding  to 
the  buttock;  lower  front  part  of  ham  should  be  full,  and  stifle  well  covered  with 
flesh.  Even  width  of  ham  and  rump  with  the  back,  loin,  and  body.  Greater 
width  in  females  not  objectionable 10 . 

Legs  and  Feet:  Legs  medium  length,  straight,  set  well  apart  and  squarely 
under  body,  tapering,  well  muscled  and  wide  above  knee  and  hock;  below 
hock  and  knee  round  and  tapering,  capable  of  sustaining  weight  of  animal  in 
full  flesh  without  breaking  down;  bone  firm  and  of  fine  texture;  pasterns  short 
and  nearlv  upright.     Feet  firm,  short,  tough  and  free  from  defects 10. 

Tail:  Tail  of  medium  length  and  size,  smooth  and  tapering  well,  and 
carried  in  a  curl 1  • 

Coat:  Fine,  straight,  smooth,  lying  close  to  and  covering  the  body  well,  and 
evenly  distributed 3. 


BREEDS  AND  TYPES  43 

Points 

Color:  Black,  with  six  white  points— tip  of  tail,  four  white  feet  and  white  in 
face  on  nose  or  point  of  lower  jaw;  all  to  be  perceptible  without  close  exami- 
nation- splashes  of  white  on  jaw.  legs  or  flank,  or  a  lew  spots  of  white  on  the  ^ 
''°%^?'  ^Str^:  ■  Condition. -vi^r  and"  v^ality  "  to  '  be"  con.id.r.cL 
There  should  be  a  difference  between  breeding  animals  and  those  kept  or  titt.a 
for  show  of  at  least  25  per  cent  in  size.  In  show  condition  or  when  tat.  a 
two-N-ear  old  boar  should  not  weigh  less  than  600  pounds,  and  a  sow  not  less 
han' 500  pounds.  Boars  1  year  and  over,  400  pounds;  sows.  350  pounds 
Boars  18  months,  500  pounds;  sows.  450  pounds..  Boars  and  sows  6  months 
old  not  less  than  160  pounds.  All  hogs  in  just  fair  breeding  condition,  one- 
fourth  less  for  size.  The  keeping  and  chance  that  a  young  hog  has  cuts  <,uite 
a  figure  in  his  size  and  should  be  considered,  other  points  being  equal.  Fine 
quality  and  size  combined  are  desirable ■  ■  •  •  •  w.-;;  •■/.••  ■;;■.„■ 

Aciwn  a,id  Style:  Action  vigorous,  easy  and  graceful.  St>1e  attracts e 
high  carriage;  and  in  males  testicles  should  be  prominent  and  ot  about  the  same 
size,  and  yet  not  too  large  and  pouchy. • /»';„ J'^VuV,,', 

Condition:  Healthy;  skin  clear  of  scurf,  scales,  and  sores;  soft  and  mellow 
to  the  touch;  flesh  fine,  evenly  laid  on.  and  free  from  lumps  and  wrinkles,  hair 
soft  and  lying  close  to  the  body;  good  feeding  qualities. •. •  •      ■'• 

DilposMon:     Lively,   easily  handled,   and   seemingly  kmd  and  responsive     ^^ 

*°  T^ml^try^^^adapiation  'of  points:" The  adaptation  of  all  the  points,  size, 
and  style  combined  to  make  the  desired  type  or  model ^ 

Total 1°0- 

DUROC-JERSEYS 

Tlie  swine  which  have  made  the  most  notable  prog- 
ress toward  homogeneity,  improvement  in  quality  and 
steady  advance  in  numbers  and  popular  favor  in  the 
quarter  of  a  century  prior  to  1908,  are  the  now  well- 
established  Duroc-Jerseys  of  sandy,  bronze  or  red  color. 
This  advancement  may  be  traced  directly  to  the  "getting 
together"  of  men  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  who  had 
been  breeding  hogs  of  varying  and  different  characteris- 
tics and  with  no  particular  similarity  other  than  that  they 
were  called  "red"  and  grew  rapidly  to  large  size,  and  l^y 
agreement  upon  a  type  toward  which  they  would  breed 
tliereafter,  a  common  name  by  which  the  resulting  type 
should  l^e  known,  and  a  carefully  kept  public  register  of 
the  pedigrees  of  such  animals,  from  the  succeeding  im- 
provement, as  were  deemed  desirable  for  purposes  of 
propagation. 


44  SWIXE  IX  AMERICA 

In  the  }'ears  when  tlie  advocates  of  these  revised  and 
consohdated  breeds  were  making  something  Hke  an  or- 
ganized attempt  to  bring  their  stock  to  the  front,  say 
about  1880,  and  before,  the  red  hog  was  greeted  witli 
considerable  ridicule  and  criticism  for  its  coarseness, 
low-bretl  appearance,  lack  of  uniformity  in  size  and  color, 
and  the  possession  of  very  little  that  stockmen  would 
recognize  as  style  and  finish.  Evidently,  however,  some 
source  or  other  gave  good  blood  to  a  portion  of  the  foun- 
dation stock,  and  this  asserted  itself  with  so  marked  an 
effect  in  later  breeding  and  was  so  supplemented  by  judi- 
cious selection,  mating  and  feeding,  that  an  excellent 
type  resulted,  and  this,  constantly  improving,  has  placed 
the  red  hogs  at  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century 
in  the  first  rank. 

The  principal  material  which  the  new  effort  had  as  a 
basis  was  found  in  swine  that  had  achieved  considerable 
local  reputation  in  New  Jersey,  particularly  in  Burlingtor. 
county,  where  they  grew  to  enormous  size  and  were 
known  as  "Jersey  Reds."  A  different  style  of  sandy  or 
red  hogs,  with  less  size  and  smaller  bone,  had  found  much 
favor  in  Saratoga  county,  New  York,  where  they  were 
known  as  "Durocs."  Tradition  has  it  that  the  New 
Jersey  hogs  came  from  Spain  about  or  perhaps  before 
1820,  and  the  Durocs  from  an  English  importation  made 
at  nearly  the  same  time.  The  late  General  Cassius  M. 
Clay,  of  Kentucky,  who  was  an  ardent  admirer  of  the 
red  hogs  raised  in  some  portions  of  his  state,  informed 
the  author  that  they  were  introduced  there  from  Spain 
or  Portugal  in  1849  or  1850  by  James  B.  Clay  when  the 


BREEDS  AND  TYPES  45 

latter  was  charge  d'affaires.  General  Clay  felt  confident 
that  descendants  of  these  had  found  their  way  from 
Kentucky  to  the  eastern  states  and  contributed  to  the 
improvement  of  the  stock  there. 

The  Duroc-Jerseys,  while  they  may  not  have  been 
widely  exploited  as  gaining  i-he  heavy  weights  reached 
by  overgrown  specimens  of  the  Poland-China  or  Chester 
White  breeds,  are  so  nearly  the  same  size  as  to  properly 
be  classed  as  large  hogs,  and  undoubtedly  they  will, 
under  the  right  conditions,  produce  as  much  pork  in 
the  same  length  erf  time  and  from  the  same  quantity  of 
feed  as  swine  of  any  breed.  They  are  prolific,  rearing 
large  litters,  and  are  of  the  most  quiet,  peaceable  dis- 
position. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  certain  strams  of  these 
hogs  are  inclined  to  coarseness,  there  are  some  that 
carry  greater  weight  on  smaller  bone  than  those  of  any 
other  breed  of  which  the  author  has  knowledge.  In 
fact,  in  some  Duroc-Jerseys,  the  limits  have  appeared  en- 
tirely too  small  to  sustain  the  bodies,  yet  the  animals 
were  perfect  in  their  movements  and  stood  as  firmly  on 
the  best  of  feet  and  with  ankles  as  erect,  sustaining  and 
stout  as  those  of  a  young  mule.  One  respect  in  which 
the  breeders  of  Duroc-Jerseys  have  so  far  failed  is  the 
securing  of  uniformity  in  color.  The  ideal  color  toward 
which  the  more  fastidious  and  ambitious  breeders  have 
worked  is  a  "cherry  red,"  from  which  such  variations  as 
"bright  red"  and  "dark  cherry"  are  allowable.  While 
considerable  progress  has  been  made  in  establishing 
strains  with  this  color,  it  lias,  as  vet.  bv  no  means  become 


46  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

the  rule.  Families  of  superior  merit  are  seen  with  all 
shades  of  rusty  yellow,  rusty  gray,  or  yellowish  or  rusty 
brown,  often  verging  close  to  a  dirty  black.  Others  are 
light  or  dark  sandy,  and  still  others  have  unlimited  varia- 
tions of  *'red,"  bronze,  or  copper  color.  No  one  of  these 
represents  a  monopoly  in  quality,  for  individuals  of  the 
highest  excellence  may  be  found  in  each  color,  yet  it 
must  be  admitted  that  a  collection  of  the  cherry  red, 
other  qualities  being  equal,  affords,  by  far,  the  most  at- 
tractive exhibit.  It  is  not  improbable  that  eventually  this 
color,  most  popular  with  the  majority,  will,  with  pos- 
sibly slight  variations,  be  the  prevailing  one  for  the 
breed. 

Herewith  is  a  scale  of  points  adopted  by  the  American 
Duroc-Jersey  Record  .Association,  and  description  in  de- 
tail, prepared  by  the  National  Association  of  Expert 
Judges : 

Points 

Head  and  Face:  Hear!  small  in  proportion  to  size  of  body  and  wide  be- 
tween eyes;  face  nicely  dished  (about  halfway  between  a  Poland-China  and  a 
Berkshire)  and  tapering  well  down  to  the  nose;  surface  smooth  and  even.  ...      4. 

Eyes:     Lively,  bright  and  prominent 2 . 

Ears:  Medium,  moderately  thin,  pointing  forward  downward  and  slightly 
outward,  carrying  a  slight  curve;  attached  to  head  very  neatly 2. 

Neck:     Short,  thick  and  very  deep;  slightly  arching.' 2 . 

Jowl:  Broad,  full  and  neat,  carrying  fullness  back  to  point  of  shoulders 
and  on  a  line  with  breastbone 2  . 

Shoulders:  Moderately  broad,  very  deep  and  full,  carrying  thickness  well 
down  and  not  extending  above  line  of  back' 6. 

Chest:  Large,  very  deep,  filled  full  behind  shoulders,  breastbone  extending 
well  forward  so  as  to  be  readily  seen 12. 

Back  and  Loin:  Back  medium  in  breadth,  straight  or  slightly  arching, 
carrying  even  width  from  shoulder  to  ham;  surface  even  and  smooth 15. 

Sides  and  Ribs:  Sides  very  deep,  medium  in  length,  level  between  shoulders 
and  hams  and  carrying  out  full  down  to  line  of  belly.  Ribs  long,  strong  and 
sprung  in  proportion  to  width  of  shoulders  and  hams 8  . 

Belly  and  Flank:  Straight  and  full  and  carrying  well  out  to  line  of  sides. 
Flank  well  down  to  lower  line  of  sides 6 . 

Hams  and  RUntp:  Broad,  full  and  well  let  down  to  the  hock;  buttock  full 
and  coming  nearly  down  and  filling  full  between  hocks.  Rump  should  have 
a  round  slope  from  loin  to  root  of  tail,  same  width  as  back,  and  well  filled  out 
around  tail 10, 

Legs  and  Feet:  Medium  size  and  length,  straight,  nicely  tapered,  wide 
aijart  and  well  set  imder  the  body,  pasterns  short  and  strong.  Feet  short, 
firm  and  tough 10. 

Tail:     Medium-  large  at  base  and  nicely  tapering  and  rather  bushy  at  end      1. 


BREEDS  AND  TYPES  47 

Points 

Coat:  Moderatelv  thick  and  fine;  straight,  smooth,  and  covering  the  body 
%vell : 2. 

Color:     Cherry  red,  without  other  admixtures 2  . 

Sice:  Large  for  age  and  condition.  Boars  2  years  old  and  over  should 
weigh  600  pounds;  sows,  same  age  and  condition,  500  pounds;  boars  18  months 
475  pounds;  sows,  400  pounds;  boars,  12  months,  350  pounds;  sows,  300  pounds; 
boar  and  sow  pigs  6  months,  150  pounds.  These  figures  are  for  animals  in  a 
lair  show  condition 5  . 

Action  and  Style:     Action,  vigorous  and  animated.     Style,  free  and  easy.  .      4. 

Condition:  Healthy;  skin  free  from  any  scurf,  scales,  sores,  and  mange; 
flesh  evenly  laid  over  the  entire  body  and  free  from  any  lumps 4. 

Disposition:     Very  quiet  and  gentle;  easily  handled  or  driven 3  . 

Total 100. 

BERKSHIRES 

The  Berkshire,  a  hreed  extremely  popular  with  many 
in  the  United  States,  is  nati\'e  to  England,  and  was 
improved  there  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury,  by  crossing  with  Chinese,  Siamese  and  Neapolitan 
stock.  By  judicious  selection  and  care  the  breed  had 
become  one  of  the  most  esteemed  in  all  parts  of  England 
and  also  in  Scotland  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

According  to  A.  B.  Allen,  who  was  awarded  a  prize 
of  $ioo  b}^  the  American  Berkshire  Association  shortly 
after  its  organization  for  the  best  collected  information 
on  the  Berkshire  breed,  "the  first  importation  of  Berk- 
shires  to  America  was  made  in  1823  by  John  Brentnall, 
an  English  farmer  who  settled  in  English  Neighbor- 
hood, New  Jersey.  The  next  importation  was  in  1832, 
by  Siday  Hawes.  an  English  farmer  who  settled  at  Al- 
bany, New  York."  Other  importations  followed  and 
animals  from  tlie  New  York  stock  were  introduced  both 
west  and  south. 

The  Berkshire  may  be  classified  as  either  a  medium- 
sized  or  large  breed.  The  mature  animals  in  breeding 
condition  will  weigh  from  four  to  eight  hundred  pounds. 


48  SWIiXK    IN    AMERICA 

Their  size,  ready  growtli,  lianliness.  easy  fattcnii^o".  do- 
cility, iinitorniity  and  wide  adaptaliilit}-.  commend  them 
to  breeders  everywhere.  Among  the  quahties  claimed 
for  them  by  their  ad\'Ocates  are  robust  muscular  pow'er 
and  vitality,  rendering  them  less  than  others  susceptible 
to  (h'sease;  strong  digestive  and  assimilating  powers, 
and  prolificacy ;  the  sows  are  careful  nurses  and  good 
sucklers :  they  can  be  fattened  for  market  at  any  age,  or 
grown  to  any  reasonable  weight  desired,  and  they  make 
the  best  quality  of  pork.  The  Berkshires  are  noted  for 
their  uniformity  in  reproducing  color,  marking  and 
quality. 

In  an  early  decade  followdng  their  introduction  into 
the  United  States,  there  raged  in  America  what  might 
appropriately  be  called  the  "Berkshire  fever,"  and 
through  the  efforts  to  sell  the  imported  stock  at  fancy 
prices  a  mushroom  reputation  was  given  the  l)ree(l  by 
speculators.  The  careless,  neglectful  methods  then  in 
vogue  wn'th  many  farmers  fell  far  short  of  maintaining 
the  superior  equalities  given  by  English  breeding  and 
feeding,  and  deterioration  followed.  A  prejudice  arose, 
wdiich  for  a  time  impaired  the  reputation  of  the  stock. 
Since  1865,  how^ever.  new  importations  of  the  best  Berk- 
shires of  Great  Britain  have  been  made,  and  from  tlie 
organization  in  1875  of  the  American  Berkshire  Associa- 
tion, an  alert  and  aggressive  society,  the  breed's  reputa- 
tion, quality  and  numbers  of  the  stock  have  been  won- 
derfully enhanced. 

The  Berkshire  especiallv  makes  claim  to  notice  as  an 
animal  thriving  on  good  pasturage.      Where  excellent 


BREEDS    AND    TYPES  49 

grazing  is  available,  the  Berkshire  holds  his  own  as  a 
feeder  and  pork  maker. 

In  color,  the  Berkshires  have  progressed  from  the  old 
unimproved  half-black  and  half-white,  spotted,  or  reddish 
brown,  to  black,  with  some  white  on  the  face,  jowl  and 
tail,  and  usually  with  white  feet.  Their  ears  are  rather 
erect,  though  in  the  aged  animals  they  incline  to  droop- 
ing, and  are  medium  to  small  in  size. 

A  standard  of  excellence,  description  and  scale  of 
points  for  judging  swine  were  first  formulated  in  1875, 
at  Springfield.  III.,  by  the  American  Berkshire  Associa- 
tion, for  the  Berkshire  breed,  and  they  are  as  follows: 

Points 

Color:     Black,  but  skin  and   hair  occasionally  showing  tinge  ot  bronze  or 

copper  color,  with  white  on  feet,  face    tip  of  tail  and  occasional  splash  on  arm.  .  4 

Face  and  Snout:     The  latter  short    broad,  and  meaty,  the  former  fine,  well 

dished  and  broad  between  the  eyes 9 . 

Eyes:     Very  clear,  rather  large,  dark  hazel  or  gray 2. 

Ears:     Sonretimes  almost   erect    but   generally  inclined   forward,  medium 

size 4 . 

Jowl:     Full  and  heavy,  running  well  back  on  neck 4. 

'Neck:     Short  and  broad  on  top 4. 

Hair:     Fine  and  soft;  inclined  to  thickness  in  male 3. 

Skin:     Smooth  and  pliable 4. 

Shoulder:     Smooth  and  even  on  top  and  in  line  with  side,  thick  through 

chest    7 . 

Back:     Broad,  long,  and  straight,  or  slightly  arched,  ribs  well  sprung 10. 

Side:     Deep  and  well  let  down;  straight  side  and  bottom  line 6. 

Flank:     Well  back  and  low  down  on  leg,  making  nearly  a  straight  line  with 

lower  part  of  side S . 

Loin :     Full  and  wide 8 . 

Hams:     Deep  and  thick,  extending  well  up  on  back  and  holding  thickness 

well  down  to  hock 10. 

Tail:     Well  up  on  line  with  back,  not  too  fine,  short  or  tapering 2. 

Legs  and  Feet:     Short,    straight,    and    strong,    set   wide   apart,   with  hoofs 

nearlv  erect  and  capable  of  holding  good  weight. 8. 

5i:c  and  Symmetry :     Size   all   that   is   possible   without   loss  of   quality  or 

symmetry,  with  good  length 7. 

Style:     Attractive,  spirited;  indicative  of  thorough  breeding  and  constitu- 
tional vigor 3 . 

Total 100. 

SECONDARY  BREEDS 

Other  breeds,  while  they  have  strong  adherents 
and  ma}-  in  the  future  rank  much  higher  than  at  the  time 


50  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

of  making  this  book,  are,  so  far,  of  secondary  impor- 
tance in  numbers  and  intiuence  in  America.  These 
are  the  Yorkshire,  Tamworth,  Hampshire,  Victoria,  Es- 
sex, Cheshire  and  Suffolk.  The  Hampshire  was,  for  some 
time,  known  as  the  Thin-Rind,  but  at  the  time  of  pre- 
paring- for  exhibition  at  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposi- 
tion at  St.  Louis  in  1904,  leading  advocates  of  the  breed 
agreed  upon  the  name  Hampshire.  The  Tamworth, 
Yorkshire,  Suff'olk.  Hampshire  and  Essex  are  English 
breeds,  while  the  Victoria  and  Cheshire  are  American. 

YORKSHIRES  AND   SUFFOLKS 


shire  (more  generally  called  in  England  Large  White) 
has  attained  the  most  popularity.  It  is  of  English  origin 
and  impro\-ement  and  in  Great  Britain  there  are  three 
types,  known  as  the  "Large  White,"  "Middle  \\'hite"  and 
"Small  White."  The  last  named  is  also  known  in  the 
Cnited  States  as  the  Suffolk,  sometimes  advocated  as  a 
distinct  breed  in  America,  but  it  is  in  no  wise  essentially 
different  from  the  English  Small  Wliite. 

The  earliest  known  Large  Yorkshire  hog  was  a  large 
wiiite  animal  with  enormous  drooping  ears,  and  wattles 
hanging  from  each  side  of  the  throat.  About  1850 
other  white  breeds  were  crossed  with  the  Large  York- 
shire, with  a  considerable  improvement  in  the  latter.  For 
a  time  an  attempt  seems  to  have  been  made  only  to  attain 
size,  which  was  quite  successful,  but  to  the  detriment  of 
other  qualities.  At  the  larger  exhibitions  numerous 
specimens  weighing  more  than  one  thousand  pounds  each 


BREEDS  AND  TYPES  5 1 

have  been  shown.  In  the  United  States,  their  breeding 
is  practically  confined  to  the  more  northern  states.  The 
tirst  Yorkshires  in  the  United  States  were  probably 
brought  from  England  about  1830,  and  ten  years  later 
they  were  introduced  in  Ohio. 

The  Middle  Yorkshire,  or  as  it  is  known  in  England 
the  ^Middle  \Vhite,  is  an  animal  of  medium  size  and  of 
better  fattening  type  than  the  Large  Yorkshire,  which  is 
a  good  growing,  but  slow  fattening  animal.  The  Middle 
Yorkshires  are  not  established  as  a  breed  in  the  United 
States,  and  those  which  would  be  so  classified  in  England 
are  often  registered  as  Large  Yorkshires  in  this  country. 

The  Small  Yorkshire  is  earlier  in  maturing  than  either 
of  the  other  two ;  is  a  good  feeder  and  quick  fattener. 
In  fact,  on  fair  keep  it  is  always  fat  ana  chuffy,  and 
ne\er  grows  to  any  great  size.  It  is  considered  too 
prone  to  fatness  for  good  bacon.  Its  form  is  extremely 
compact  and  its  weight  when  matured  200  pounds  or 
above.  These  swine  are  not  of  great  fecundity  and  the 
sows  are  not  good  milkers.  Like  the  Essex,  Victorias 
and  Clieshires.  they,  as  already  suggested,  cut  no  figure 
of  consequence  in  the  pork  production  of  America  or 
elsewhere. 

The  American  Yorkshire  Club  has  promulgated  the 
following  description  and  scale  of  points  for  Large 
Yorkshires  : 

Points 

Genera.  Outluie  Lnnp  and  deep  in  proportion  to  width,  but  not  massive; 
slightlv  arched  in  the  back,  symmetrical  and  smooth,  with  body  firmly  sup- 
ported by  well-nlaced  legs  of  medium  length S  . 

Outltite  of  Head :     Moderate  m  length  and  size,  with  lower  jaw  well  sprung, 

and  considerable  dish  toward  snout,  increasing  with  advancing  maturity 4. 

Forehead  and   Poll :     Wide 1 . 

Eves:     Medium  size,  clear  and  bright 1 . 

fowl:     Medium,  not  carried  too  far  back  toward  neck,  and  not  flabby 1. 


52  SWIXE  IX  AMERICA 

Point! 

Snout:     Turning  upward  with  a  short  curve,  increasing  wi  th  age 1. 

Ears:     Medium  in  size,  standing  well  out  from  the  head,  o'  mednim  orcction 

and  inclining  slightly  forward 1 . 

Neck:     Of  medium  length,  fair  width  and  depth,  rising  gradually  from  poll 

to  withers,  muscular,  but  not  gross,  evenly  connecting  head  ivith  body 3. 

Outline  of  Body:     Long,   deep  and   of  medium   breadth,   equally  wide  a.t 

shoulders,  side,  and  hams;  top  line  slightly  arched,  underline  straight 7. 

Back:     Moderately  broad,  even  in  width  from  end  to  end;  strong  in  loin; 

short  ribs  of  good  length 10. 

Shoulders:     Large,  but  not  massive,  not  open  above 6. 

Arms  and  Thighs:     Broad  and  of  medium  length  and  development 2. 

Brisket:     Wide  and  on  a  level  with  underline 3  . 

Sides:     Long,  deep,  straight  and  even  from  shoulder  to  hip 8. 

Ribs:     Well  arched  and  deep 5 . 

Heart  Girth  and  Flank  Gtrth:     Good  and  about  equal 8. 

Hind  Quarters :     Long,  to  correspond  with  shoulders  and  sides,  deep  with 

moderate  and  gradual  droop  to  tail ^ S  . 

Hams:     Large,  well  let  down  on  thigh  and  twist,  a4m  rear  outline  somewhat 

rounded 10. 

Twist:     Well  down  and  meaty 1 . 

Tail:     Medium;  not  much  inclined  to  curl 1 . 

Legs:     Medium  in  length;  strong,  not  coarse,  but  standing  straight  and  firm  5. 

Hair:     Abundant,  long,  of  medium  fineness,  without  any  bristles 4. 

Skin:     Smooth  and  white,  without  scales,  but  dark  spots  in  skin  do  not 

disqualify 2 . 

Color :     White  on  every  part .' 1 . 

Movement:     Active,  but  not  restless 5  . 

Total 100. 

TAMWORTHS 

The  Tamworth,  although  said  to  be  one  of  the  oldest 
t^-pes  known,  has  very  little  on  record  concerning-  its 
early  establishment.  An  English  authority,  who  calls  it 
the  "Mahogany"  or  "Grizzly"  pig,  says  it  was  extensively 
bred  in  several  of  the  midland  counties  of  England  early 
in  the  nineteenth  century,  when  the  droves  were  mainly 
kept  in  the  woods  and  forests.  About  1877  a  demand 
grew  up  for  more  hogs  of  a  bacon  type,  and  breeders 
of  Tamworths  brought  their  favorites  to  the  front.  A 
considerable  change  and  improvement  in  the  type  came 
about  in  the  succeeding  ten  years,  and  in  1882  the  fi'rst 
importation  to  the  United  States  is  said  to  have  been 
made  by  Thomas  Bennett,  an  Illinois  breeder.  The  de- 
sire of  Canadian  breeders  to  find  good  bacon  animals 
led  to  the  introduction  of  Tamworth  boars  into  Ontario 


BREEDS  AND  TYPES  53 

in  and  following  1888,  and  most  of  the  stock  of  that 
breed  in  the  United  States  has  since  then  been  brought 
from  Canada. 

The  Tamworth  is  considered  slow  in  maturing,  but  a 
fairly  good  feeder,  and  has  obtained  a  foothold  here  and 
there  where  the  idea  of  raising  "bacon"  is  paramount. 
In  size,  the  Tamworth  is  large,  averaging  500  to  600 
pounds  or  more  at  maturity.  Its  head  and  legs  are  more 
than  ordinarily  loilg,.and  its  ears  large.  The  color  is  of 
\arying  shades  of  "red;"  occasional  black  spots  are  con- 
sidered an  objection,  but  not  an  indication  of  impurity, 
and  are  not  a  bar  to  registration.  Even  in  late  years 
some  of  the  best  Tamworths  have  had  small  black  spots, 
but  breeders  are  endeavoring  to  eliminate  these  and  pro- 
duce stock  that  will  be  reliably  red.  The  Tamworth  is 
noted  for  hardiness  and  activity,  and  never  becomes  very 
fat.  It  is  not  nearly  as  popular  in  any  part  of  the 
United  States  as  it  is  in  Canada. 

Champions  of  the  breed  claim  it  has  two  character- 
istics for  which  it  is  entitled  to  pre-eminence ;  viz :  An 
unusual  proportion  of  lean  meat,  and  large  litters  of  ))igs ; 
also  that  Tamworths  will  make  as  many  pounds  of  gain, 
largely  lean  meat,  from  a  given  weight  of  feed  as  will 
hogs  of  any  other  breed. 

For  three  years  on  the  Colorado  Agricultural  College 
farm  the  average  for  all  sows  was  ten  live  pigs  to  a 
litter.  A  two-year-old  sow  weighing  750  pounds  had 
18  live  pigs  at  one  farrowing,  and  a  Tamworth  at  the 
Iowa  Agricultural  College  raised  33  pigs  in  one  year. 

According  to  H.  M.  Cottrell  "the  strongest  objection 
to  the  Tamworth  comes  from  farmers  who  neglect  their 


54  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

pigs  during  the  summer  when  field  work  crowds,  planning 
to  give  them  extra  attention  in  the  fall.  The  surplus  fat 
of  the  lard  hog  will  carry  him  over  a  period  of  neglect; 
the  Tamworth  does  not  have  the  lard." 

Tlie  Arkansas  station  (Bulletin  103)  found,  in  testing 
Yorkshires,  Tamworths,  Berkshires,  Poland-Chinas,  Du- 
roc-Jerseys  and  O.  I.  C.  hreeds,  that  "the  Tamworth  proved 
least  adapted  for  growth  on  an  exclusive  corn  ration." 

Many  stockmen  who  have  raised  other  hogs  dislike  the 
Tamworth,  because  to  them  it  looks  like  a  "Razor-Back." 
The_v  do  not  like  its  long  nose,  long  legs  and  thin,  long- 
body,  and  think  it  must  be  a  hard  feeder.  The  first 
cross  of  a  pure-bred  Tamworth  on  other  breeds  pro- 
duces an  easy  feeder  that  matures  quickly  and  is  gen- 
erally popular  with  stockmen.  The  second  cross,  one 
authority  says,  is  often  unsatisfactory,  the  pigs  in  the 
same  litter  frequently  being  of  entirely  difTerent  types, 
some  chunky  and  others  extremely  lengthy,  with  a  va- 
riety in  mixtures  of  colors. 

The  standard  of  excellence  for  Tamworths  as  adopted 
by  the  National  Pig  Breeders'  Association  of  Great 
Britain  has  thus  far  been  accepted  and  used  by  Ameri- 
cans, and  reads  as  follows : 

Color:     Golden-red  hair  on  a  flesh-colored  skin,  free  from  black. 

Head:  Fairly  long;  snout  moderately  long  and  quite  straight;  face  slightly 
dished,  wide  between  ears. 

Ears:  Rather  large,  with  fine  fringe,  carried  rigid  and  inclined  slightly  for- 
ward. 

Neck:     Fairly  long  and  muscvtlar,  especially  in  boar. 

Chest:     Wide  and  deep. 

Shoulders:     Fine,  slanting  and  well  set. 

Legs:     Strong  and  shapely,  with  plenty  of  bone,  and  set  well  outside  body. 

Pasterns:     Strong  and  sloping. 

Feet:     Strong,  and  of  fair  size. 

Back:     Long  and  straight. 

Loin:     Strong  and  broad. 

Tail:     Set  on  high  and  well  tasscled  . 

Sides:     Long  and   deep. 

Ribs:     Well  sprung  and  extending  well  up  to  flank 

Bellv:     Deep,  with  straight  underline. 

Flank:     Full  and  well  let  down. 

Quarters:     Long,  wide  and  straight  from  hip  to  tail. 


BREEDS  AND  TYPES  55 

rlanti:     Broarl  and  full,  well  let  ckiwii  to  hocks. 

Coat:     Abundant   long,  straight  and  fine. 

Action:     Firm  and  free. 

Objections.  Black  hair,  very  light  or  ginger  hair,  curly  coat,  coarse  mane,  blacl- 
ppots  on  skin,  slouch  or  drooping  ears,  short  or  turned  up  snout,  heavy  shoulders 
■.vrinkled  skin,  inbent  knees,  hollowness  at  back  of  shoulders. 

HAMPSHIRES 

The  Hampshire,  known  in  its  earlier  days  as  the  Thin- 
Rind  or  Belted  hog,  has  been  given  recent  popularity  be- 
cause of  the  quality  of  its  meat.  It  is  said  to  have  been 
imported  from  Hampshire,  England,  to  Massachusetts, 
between  1820  and  1830,  by  a  ship  owner  named  Mackay 
living  in  Boston,  although  the  evidence  is  not  clear  that 
these  hogs  were  then  belted.  They  were  known  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, where  they  obtained  some  popularity,  as 
Mackay  hogs.  The  true  belted  Thin-Rind  seem  to  have 
been  preserved  in  Kentucky,  to  which  state  they  were 
brought  from  Pennsylvania  by  Major  Joel  Garnet  in 
1835.  Tiiey  were  popular  in  central  Kentucky,  and  from 
th&re  were  taken  to  Illinois,  and  in  addition  to  being- 
called  Thin-Rind  were  sometimes  spoken  of  as  the 
rhinoceros  hog.     They  are  not  widely  disseminated. 

The  American  Thin-Rind  Record  Association,  com- 
posed of  the  breeders  of  this  type,  concluded  that  the 
appellation  Thin-Rind  was  misleading,  ai:d  in  January, 
1904,  the  name  of  the  Association  was  changed  to  "The 
American  Hampshire  Swine  Record  Association,"  and 
individuals  of  the  breed  it  represented  were  the  same 
year  shown  at  the  World's  fair  in  St.  Louis  as  Hamp- 
shires,  in  deference  to  their  supposed  origin  in  Hamp- 
shire. England.  The  breed  known  in  England  as 
Hampshire  is,  howc\er.  of  a  different  type,  being  black. 


56  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

The  American  Hampshire  is  of  good  size,  weighing 
300  pounds  and  above  at  12  months,  an  excellent  grazer 
and  of  good  fecundity.  The  sows  rank  well  as  mothers 
and  nurses,  with  good  dispositions.  They  are  hearty,  re- 
sponsive feeders,  with  the  desirable  quality  of  bone,  and 
of  a  style  that  suggests  the  "bacon"  rather  than  the  '.'lard" 
hog.  Some  of  them  are  a  little  inclined  to  legginess,  and 
to  ha\-e  (juite  long,  sharp  faces.  They  are  not  dish  faced, 
and  their  ears  are  of  moderate  size,  pointing  forward 
rather  than  erect  or  drooping.  The  breed  is  especially 
distinguished  by  a  white  belt  encircling  the  forepart  of 
the  body,  from  four  or  five  to  12  inches  wide  and  in- 
cluding the  forelegs.  The  color  is  otherwise  chiefly  black. 
These  swine  do  not  always  breed  true  to  color,  many 
being  born  entirely  black,  and  others  but  partly  belted. 

The  American  Hampshire  Swine  Record  Association 
uses  the  description  and  scale  herewith  as  indicative  of 
what  a  first-class  Hampshire  should  be : 

Point: 

Head  and  Face:  Head  medium  length  and  rather  narrow ;  cheeks  not  full; 
face  nearly  straight  and  medium  width  between  the  eyes,  surface  even  and 
regular 4 . 

Eyes:     Bright  and  lively,  free  from  wrinkles  or  su-rrounding  fat 2. 

Ears:     Medium  length,  thin,  slightly  inclined  outward  and  forward 2. 

Neck:     Short,  well  set  to  shoulders,  tapering  from  shoulders  to  head 2. 

Jowl:     Light  and  tapering  from  neck  to  point,  neat  and  firm 2. 

Shoulders:     Deep,  medium  width  and  fullness,  well  in  line  with  back 6. 

Chest:  Large,  deep,  and  roomv;  fuU  girth,  extending  down  even  with  line 
of  belly ; 12. 

Back  and  Loin:  Back  straight  or  slightlv  arched;  medium  breadth,  with 
nearly  uniform  thickness  from  shoulders  to  hams  and  fidl  at  loin ;  sometimes 
higher  at  hins  than  at  shoulders IS 

Sides  and  Ribs:  Sides  full,  smooth,  firm;  carry  size  evenly  from  shoulders 
to  hams;  ribs  strong,  well  spnmg  at  top  and  bottom 8 . 

Belly  and  Flavk:  Straight  and  full,  devoid  of  grossness;  flank  full  and 
running  nearly  on  line  with  sides 6  . 

Hams  and  Rump:  Hams  of  medium  width,  long  and  deep;  rump  slightly 
Tounded  from  loin  to  root  of  tail;  buttock  full,  neat  and  firm;  devoid  of  flalibi- 
ness  or  excessive  fat 10 , 

Legs  and  Feet:  Legs  medium  length,  set  well  apart  and  squarely  under 
hodv;  wide  above  knee  and  bork,  and  rounded  and  well  muscled  below,  taper- 
{•--»:  ■'•rinc  medium:  pasterns  short  and  nearly  upright;  toes  short  and  firm, 
enabling  the  animal  to  carry  its  weight  with  ease 10. 


Duroc-Jeisey  Sow,   3Iy   Choice 


A   Great   Diiroc-Jersey   Boar 


A    Prize-AVi lining   Diiroc- Jersey    Boar 


A   Great   Duroc-Jersey  Sow 


BREEDS  AND  TYPES  5/ 

Points 

Tail:     Medium  length,  slightly  curled 1 . 

Coat:     Fine,  straight,  smooth 2 . 

Color:  Black,  with  exception  of  white  belt  encircling  body,  including 
forelegs 2 . 

Size:  Large  for  condition;  boars  2  years  and  over,  450  pounds;  sows,  same 
age,  400  pounds;  18  months  boars,  350  pounds;  sows,  325  pounds;  12  months 
boars  or  sows,  300  pounds;  6  months,  both  sexes,  140  pounds S. 

Action  and  Style :  Active,  vigorous,  quick  and  graceful;  style,  attractive 
and  spirited 4. 

Condition:  Healthy;  skin  free  from  all  defects;  flesh  evenly  laid  on  and 
smooth  and  firm;  not  patchy,  and  devoid  of  grossness 4. 

Disposition:     Docile;  quiet  and  easily  handled 3. 

Total 100. 

VICTORIAS 

The  name  Victoria  has  been  appHed  to  two  different 
types  of  swine,  not  related  in  origin.  One  known  as  the 
"Curtis  Victoria"  was  introduced  by  Col.  F.  D.  Curtis  of 
Saratoga  county,  New  York,  and  developed  Ijy  crossing 
native  hogs  of  Irish  Grazier  blood  with  the  Byfield,  and 
by  subsequent  crosses  with  the  Yorkshire.  The  name  is 
said  to  have  been  given  from  a  sow  known  as  Queen 
Victoria. 

The  "Davis  Victoria"  was  obtained  by  breeding  to- 
gether Berkshires,  Poland-Chinas,  Chester  Whites  and 
Yorkshires,  by  George  F.  Davis  of  Lake  county,  Indiana. 
Colonel  Curtis  introduced  his  type  about  1850,  and  the 
Davis  breed  was  developed  some  20  years  later.  Most 
of  the  Victorias  now  bred  trace  to  the  Davis  stock. 

The  Victoria  will  weigh  around  500  pounds  at  ma- 
turity. It  is  white  and  resembles  in  appearance  the 
Middle  White  or  Yorkshire.  It  is  sometimes  spoken  of 
as  the  "White  Berkshire."  Its  meat  is  well  liked  and 
its  breeding  qualities  are  said  to  be  good.  Special  claims 
made  for  animals  of  this  breed  are  that  they  have  a  bone 
quality  which  makes  them  excellent  shippers;  that  they 


58  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

cross  well  with  other  breeds,  and  while  they  are  white 
they  do  not  scald  or  blister  by  the  sun  as  other  white 
pigs  are  lial^le  to  do  in  the  West. 

The  Victoria  Swine  Breeders'  Association  uses  the  fol- 
lowing- scale  of  points  and  description : 

Points 

Color:     White,  with  occasional  dark  spots  in  the  skin 2  . 

Head:     Small,  broad,  and  face  medium  dished 3 . 

Ears:     Fine,  pointing  forward 2 . 

Jowl:     Medium  in  size  and  neat 1 . 

Neck :     Short,  full  and  well  arched 3 . 

Shoulders:     Broad    and    deep 7 . 

Girth  around  Heart :      .• .  .  6 . 

Back:     Straight,  broad  and  level 12  . 

Sides:     Deep  and  full 6 . 

Ribs:     Well  sprung 7 . 

Loin :     Broad   and   strong 12. 

Flank:     Well  let  down 2 . 

Hams:     Broad,  full  and  deep,  without  loose  fat 12  . 

Tail:     Medium  fine  and  curled 2 . 

Legs:     Fine  and  straight 3 . 

Feet:     Small 3 . 

Hair:     Fine  and  silky,  free  from  bristles 3 . 

Action :     Easy  and  graceful 4 . 

S^'mmetry:     Adaptation  of  the  several  parts  to  each  other 10. 

Total 100. 

ESSEX 

The  Essex,  a  small  black  hog,  has  been  known  in 
America  since  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
but  has  never  secured  a  very  wide  popularity.  It  is 
more  especially  adapted  to  raising  in  a  small  way  for 
family  use  than  for  commercial  purposes.  The  Essex 
of  the  United  States  and  the  Small  Black  or  Sufifolk  of 
England  are  said  to  be  practically  the  same.  They  are 
good  feeders,  early  maturers,  and  produce  meat  of  ex- 
cellent flavor,  but  with  a  large  proportion  of  fat. 

CHESHIRES 

The  Cheshire  originated  in  Jefferson  county,  New 
York,  about  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.     It 


BREEDS  AND  TYPES 


59 


has  also  been  known  as  the  Jefferson  County  hog,  or 
Jefferson  County  White,  and  is  supposed  to  be  the  re- 
sult of  crossing  a  Yorkshire  boar  upon  native  sows 
having  considerable  Suffolk  blood.  The  Cheshire  is  al- 
ways white,  with  a  pinkish  skin,  and  in  conformation  is 
not  essentially  different  from  the  Englishman's  Middle 
White  or  Yorkshire.  The  face,  while  dished,  is  only 
slightly  so.     The  ears  are  small  and  fine,  and  although 


CHESHIRE  BOAR 


pointing  somewhat  forward  are  (juite  erect.  The  body  is 
of  good  length,  with  good  hams  and  shoulders  and  a 
rather  broad  back,  somewhat  arched.  Cheshire  legs  are 
a  little  too  light  in  the  bone,  and  in  this  respect  need 
improvement.  The  breed  may  be  ranked  as  either  of 
medium  or  heavy  weight,  individuals  being  made  to 
weigh  up  to  600  pounds  dressed,  if  desired.  It  is  favor- 
ably known  for  its  fecundity  and  the  quality  of  its  flesh. 
The  Cheshire,  although  of  a  good  sort,  is  very  seldom 


6o 


SWINE  IX  a:merica 


seen  west  of  New  ^'ork  and   its  popularity  lias  never 
been  more  than  local. 

A    scale   of   points   adopted    by   the    Cheshire    Swine 
Breeders'  Association  reads  thus : 

Pi.int.; 

Head:     Short  to  medium  in  length;  short  in  proportion  to  length  of  body.  8. 

Face:     Somewhat  dished  and  wide  between  the  eyes 8 . 

Jowl:     Medium  in  fullness 3  . 

Ears:     Small,  fine,  erect  and  in  old  animals  slightly  pointed  forward S  . 

Neck:     Short  and  broad 3  . 

Shoulders:     Broad,  full  and  deep 6 . 

Girth  around  Heart :    8  . 

Back:     Long,  broad  and  straight  nearly  to  root  of  tail 10. 

Side:     Deep  and  full,  nearly  straight  on  bottom  line 7  , 

Flank:     Well  back  and  low  down,  making  flank  girth  nearly  equal  to  heart 

girth 3  . 

Hams:     Broad   and  nearly   straight   with   back,   and   running  well   down 

towards  hock 10. 

Legs:     Small  and  slim,  set  well  apart,  supporting  body  well  on  toes 10. 

Tail:     Small,  slim  and  tapering 3  . 

Hair:     Fine ;  medium  in  thickness  and  quantity 3 

Color:     White.       Colored  hairs  disqualify 2 . 

Skin:     Fine  and  pliable,  small  blue  spots  objectionable  but  allowable 3. 

Symynetry:     Animal  well  proportioned,  handsome  and  stylish 8. 

Total 100. 


CHESHIRE   sow 


MISCELLANEOUS   SORTS 

Aside  from  the  distinct  breeds,  a  few  miscellaneous 
sorts  are  known  in  America,  but  they  are  without  stand- 
ing. These  are :  The  Razor-Back,  as  the  wild  or  semi- 
wild  hoo-  of  the  more  southern  or  Gulf  states  and  Mex-ico 


BREEDS  AND  TYPES  6l 

is  called;  the  Guinea;  the  Mnle-Foot  or  solid-hoofed; 
and  the  Cuino.  Domesticated  swine  have  been  traced 
back  in  origin  to  the  wild  hog,  and  remarkable  changes 
have  been  observed  of  the  manner  in  which  wild  speci- 
mens kept  in  confinement  will  take  on  the  appearance 
and  flesh  of  those  that  are  the  product  of  man's  im- 
provement. On  the  other  hand,  improved  varieties 
turned  out  to  shift  for  themselves  have  assumed  all  the 
characteristics  of  wild  hogs,  although  observations  in 
New  Zealand  have  shown  that  animals  once  domesticated 
do  not  revert  to  as  wild  or  solitary  a  disposition  as  is 
noticeable  in  the  undomesticated  types.  Experiments  in 
confining  wild  animals  have  shown  that  advantages  at- 
tained through  years  of  domestication  are  valuable  be- 
cause they  ha\'e  been  secured  and  made  permanent  by 
very  slow  processes,  and  that  the  opinion  sometimes  ad- 
\anced  that  crosses  with  the  Razor-Back  or  other  un- 
tamed stock  will  give  a  much  hardier  and  ''cholera- 
proof"  constitution  is  without  substantial  foundation. 

MULE-FOOT  HOGS 

The  Mule-Foot  or  solid-hoofed  hog  is  reared,  but  to 
an  extent  scarcely  appreciable,  in  the  southwestern  part 
of  the  United  States,  and  is  said  to  be  common  in  some 
])ortions  of  Old  Mexico  in  considerable  numbers.  There 
are  some  in  Texas,  Louisiana  and  Arkansas,  and  a  few 
have  found  their  way  to  Missouri  and  Indiana.  There 
was  organized  at  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  in  January,  1908. 
"The  National  Mule-Foot  Hog  Record  Association," 
composed  of  Indiana  breeders,  which  is  to  record  and 


62  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

publish  pedigrees  and  promote  the  dissemination  of  these 
soHd-hoofed  swine,  which  are  claimed  by  their  admirers 
to  be  in  all  respects  equal  to  those  of  other  breeds,  be- 
sides having  a  vitality  that  makes  them  strangers  to 
ordinary  diseases,  and  "cholera-proof"! 

Hogs  of  this  family  are  mainly  black,  with  more  or 
less  white  points  or  markings,  have  coats  of  soft  hair, 
fairly  gentle  dispositions,  fatten  quite  easily,  and  can  be 
made  to  weigh  at  two  years  or  more  from  400  to  600 
pounds,  and  sometimes  heavier.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
they  have  no  particular  merits  not  possessed  by  other 
breeds,  but  their  having  solid  instead  of  cleft  hoofs 
makes  them,  as  freaks,  objects  of  curiosity  to  most  per- 
sons, and  the  type,  regardless  of  merit,  will  not  be  with- 
out admirers  for  this  one  feature,  if  for  no  other.  At 
the  first  auction  sale  of  these  hogs,  in  Johnson  county, 
Indiana,  in  the  autumn  of  1908,  twenty-three  sows 
brought  an  average  of  $32.50  each  and  six  boars  $20.10 
each.     One  sow  sold  for  $60. 

Many  of  these  hogs  have  wattles  on  their  lower  jaws. 
These  consist  of  a  round  or  teatlike  piece  of  skin  or 
tissue  hanging  on  each  side  of  the  lower  jaw,  covered 
with  hair,  and  on  a  full-grown  hog  are  from  three  to 
four  inches  long. 

In  southern  Missouri  and  northern  Arkansas  these 
swine  are  designated  as  ''Ozark  hogs."  Various  state- 
ments of  their  origin  are  extant,  but  no  one  knows 
definitely  about  it,  which  is  of  little  consequence,  al- 
thousrh  thev  are  well  enousrh  in  their  wav. 


BREEDS  AND  TYPES  63 

GUINEA  HOGS 

The  so-called  Guineas  are  a  red  or  sandy  kind  of  hog, 
known  while  slavery  was  in  existence  in  the  United 
States,  and  no  doubt  they  were  first  imported  here  from 
the  Guinea  coast  of  western  Africa  in  slave-trading 
ships.  They  are  thought  to  have  been  brought  to  the 
United  States  soon  after  1800,  and  perhaps  had  some 
influence  in  developing  the  present  Duroc-Jerseys.  The 
author  has  been  unable  to  find  any  domesticated  red  hog 
in  any  country  where  the  slave  trade  did  not  exist,  but 
it  is  found  in  almost  every  country  where  the  captured 
Guinea  negro  slaves  were  landed.  In  Texas  a  breed 
of  black  hogs  partially  of  Essex  blood  is  known  as  the 
Guinea-Essex.  They  are  solid  black  and  have  no  red 
or  sandy  color.  A  Portuguese  hog  was  known  over  a 
number  of  eastern  states  for  some  years  before  the  Civil 
war.  They  were  first  imported  to  Massachusetts  for  the 
Daniel  Webster  farm,  but  upon  landing  were  sold  to 
New  York  and  Vermont  farn.iers.  These  and  the  Jersey 
Red  hogs  were  all  of  a  red  or  sandy  color. 

THE  cumo* 

There  exists  in  some  sections  of  Old  }kIexico  a  type  of 
"hog"  represented  as  the  product  of  crossing  a  ram  with  a 
sow.  and  the  term  "Cuino"  has  been  applied  to  this  rather 
violent  combination.  The  ram  used  as  a  sire  to  pro- 
duce the  Cuino  is  kept  with  the  hogs  from  the  time  he  is 
weaned.  A  resident  of  Mexico  has  given  the  following 
description  of  the  Cuino:    "The  sow  used  to  produce  the 

*  The  origin  of  tlie   Cuino,  as  given,  is  not  vouelud  for  by  the  author. 


64 


SWINE  IN  AMERICA 


Cnino  belongs  to  any  race,  but,  as  a  rule,  to  the  Razor- 
Back  family,  which  is  the  more  numerous.  There  is 
never  any  difficulty  with  her  accepting  the  ram  when 
breeding  time  comes.  The  progeny  is  a  pig — unmis- 
takabl}'  a  pig — with  the  form  and  all  the  characteristics 
of  the  pig,  but  he  is  entirely  different  from  his  dam  if  she 
is  a  Razor-Back.  He  is  round-ribbed  and  blocky,  his 
short  legs  cannot  take  him  far  from  his  sty,  and  his 
snout  is  too  short  to  root  with.  His  head  is  not  unlike 
that  of  the  Berkshire.  His  body  is  covered  with  long, 
thick,  curly  hair,  not  soft  enough  to  be  called  wool,  but 
which,  nevertheless,  he  takes  from  his  sire.  His  color  is 
black,  white,  black  and  white,  brown  and  white.  He  is 
a  good  grazer  and  is  mostly  fed  on  grass,  with  one  or 
two  ears  of  corn  a  day,  and  on  these  he  fattens  quickly. 
The  Cuino  reproduces  itself  and  is  often  crossed  a  second 
and  third  time  witli  a  ram.  Be  it  what  it  may,  the  Cuino 
is  the  most  popular  breed  of  hogs  in  the  state  of  Oaxaca, 
and  became  so  on  account  of  their  propensity  to  fatten 
on  little  food." 

PECCARIES 

Under  the  name  of  peccary  are  included  two  species 
of  forest-dwelling  mammals  of  the  hog  family  nati\'e  to 
America.  Tliey  differ  radically  from  the  domesticated 
swine,  particularly  in  having  but  38  teeth,  as  against  44 
in  the  domesticated  breeds,  and  the  hind  feet  being 
three-toed.  In  general  appearance  they  somewhat 
resemble  small  hogs,  except  for  very  slender  legs,  entire 
absence  of  tail,  and   for  their  much  elongated   snouts. 


BREEDS  AND  TYPES  D5 

On  the  rear  extremity  of  the  backs  of  both  male  aiul 
female  is  a  gland  which  secretes  a  very  fetid  fluid.  The}- 
are  not  esteemed  for  or  much  used  as  food.  If  taken 
young  they  are  easily  domesticated,  but  do  not  cross 
witii  the  common  hog.  The  females  give  birth  to  young 
but  once  a  year,  usually  to  one  and  sometimes  to  tv^o. 
Of  the  two  species  the  Collared  peccary  (Dicotylcs  tor- 
qiiatiis  or  Dicotylcs  fajacu),  presumably  known  to  the 
Spanish  speaking  inhabitants  of  the  southern  part  of 
the  United  States  and  Central  and  South  America  as 
"javelina."  ranges  from  southwest  Arkansas  and  Texas 
west  possibly  as  far  as  California  and  south  to  Pata- 
gonia. They  forage  in  couples  or  in  small  herds  of 
eight  or  ten.  The  White-Lipped  peccary  (D.  labiafiis)  as- 
sociates in  large  herds,  and  its  range  is  comparatively 
small,  including  only  the  region  between  British  Hon- 
duras and  Paraguay. 

WILD  HOGS 

In  the  delta  of  the  Colorado  river,  not  far  from  the 
borders  of  Arizona  and  California,  are  wild  hogs  de- 
scribed as  "razor-backed,  long-limbed,  sharp-tusked,  fast 
as  horses,  shifty  as  jackrabbits  and  when  cornered,  fe- 
rocious as  tigers."  Tusks  of  the  old  boars  are  spoken 
of  as  "scimitar-shaped,  razor-sharp,  needle-pointed  and 
enormous,  and  driven  by  a  sinewy  neck  will  lay  open 
anything  softer  tlian  a  i)late  of  chrome  steel."  There 
are  no  great  numbers  of  these  swine,  and  they  are  grad- 
ually being  killed  off  by  parties  of  Mexican  hunters  who 
slaughter  them  for  meat.     It  is  tradition  that  they  are 


66        .  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

descendants  of  domestic  hogs  taken  to  the  region  in  i8(S6, 
in  connection  with  a  colonization  scheme  which  was  aban- 
doned, but  there  is  a  popular  belief  that  an  admixture 
with  the  peccary  or  javelina  has  had  something  to  do 
with  giving  them  "their  suppleness,  their  murderous  tusks 
and  but  slightly  less  deadly  forehoofs." 

Wild  hogs,  generally  spoken  of  as  Razor-Backs,  are 
found  to  some  extent  in  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  and  the 
swamps  of  Texas,  Louisiana,  Arkansas  and  Florida,  but 
of  a  somewhat  different  type  from  the  wild  hogs  of 
Europe.  They  are  gradually  disappearing  as  the  country 
where  they  range  becomes  populated,  the  land  cultivated 
and  the  merits  of  improved  stock  better  appreciated. 

LINCOLNSHIRE  CURLY  COATED  SAVINE 

In  1909  Prof.  C.  S.  Plumb  imported  for  the  Ohio  State 
University  a  small  number  of  what  are  called  Lincolnshire 
Curly  Coated  pigs,  from  Lincolnshire,  England.  Animals 
of  this  breed  have  a  white  skin  and  a  very  curly,  thick  coat 
of  white  hair,  but  dark  spots  sometimes  occur  on  the  skin. 
The  head  is  short,  rather  straight,  and  the  ears  lop  over 
and  are  a  trifle  thick.  The  back  seems  some  wider  and 
stronger  than  is  usual  in  the  British  breeds,  and  perhaps 
with  more  ham  and  less  length  of  leg.  These  Lincolnshires 
have  been  termed  both  a  bacon  and  a  general  purpose  breed. 

"The  Lincolnshire  is  said  to  be  very  hardy,  and  a  good 
doer  under  ordinary  circumstances,  roughing  it  easily  in 
England.  The  sows  are  prolific  and  have  nice  litters  and 
are  good  mothers."  The  breed  is  entirely  new  to  Amer- 
ica, and  its  merits  here  are  yet  to  be  tested. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Practical  Points  in  Breeding 

Perhaps  the  best  sugg-estion  that  can  be  offered  the 
man  wlio  raises  hogs  is  that  he  should  strive  for  the 
golden  mean,  avoiding  extremes  in  any  phase  of  the 
business.  There  are  many  temptations  to  go  too  far,  and 
success  often  comes  from  knowing  when  and  where  to 
stop.  Corn  is  a  wonderful  feed,  and  in  its  territory 
swine  raising-  is  on  a  secure  basis,  but  the  farmer  who 
relies  too  much  on  corn  and  neglects  the  properly  asso- 
ciated feeds  will  force  his  hogs  into  the  weak-footed 
brigade,  exposed  to  the  assaults  of  disease  through  lack 
of  proper  development.  On  the  other  hand,  a  man  may 
go  too  far  in  seeking  the  adapted  ration,  as  did  the 
farmer  who  fed  his  hogs  concentrated  lye  to  soften  and 
make  digestible  the  grains  in  the  hogs'  stomachs ;  the 
grain  was  no  doubt  softened,  but  the  hogs  died  before 
the  beneficial  effects,  or  rather  action,  of  such  a  carefully 
adjusted  diet  could  be  ascertained.  Caution  tempered  by 
common  sense  should  be  the  general  motto. 

If  the  beginner  will  start  with  not  more  than  tAvo  or 
three  sows,  in  pig  when  purchased,  he  can  acfiuire  much 
Aaluable  experience  with  even  so  small  a  number,  while 
his  risks  will  not  be  great.  The  next  year  he  may  add 
to  the  number  of  sows,  secure  a  suitable  boar,  and  by 
slow  but  careful  increase  in  the  number  of  sow^s  bred 


68  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

each  year,  if  good  management  and  freedom  from  dis- 
ease prevail,  should  soon  find  himself  with  a  profitable 
herd. 

SELECTION   OF   BREEDING   STOCK 

Many  practical  questions  enter  into  the  first  selection 
of  boars  and  brood  sows,  not  the  least  of  these  being  the 
facilities  and  pocketbook  of  the  man  who  is  doing  the 
buying.  The  beginner  in  swine  raising  may  learn  much 
from  books,  papers  and  breeders'  meetings  regarding 
the  ideal  hog,  only  to  find,  after  all  is  said  and  read, 
that  financially  he  is  in  no  position  to  stock  up  at  prices 
he  may  regard  as  high,  yet  not  too  high.  The  great 
majority  are  so  situated.  While  the  author  of  this  vol- 
ume firmly  believes  in  the  advantages  and  importance  of 
registered  stock,  he  recognizes  that  most  men  who  raise 
swine  are  not  so  equipped  that  they  can  apply  the  methods 
best  suited  for  handling  a  $5,500  boar  or  a  sow  simi- 
larly related  to  the  nobility.  He  has  endeavored,  there- 
fore, to  set  forth  the  best  methods  that  have  come  under 
Ills  observation,  without  going  far  outside  the  range  of 
the  average  man  who  raises  hogs  to  sell  for  slaughter. 

The  hog  has  won  his  place  in  great  part  through  the 
fact  that  he  is  profitable  alike  to  rich  and  poor,  and  a 
man  with  limited  resources  may  make  more  money  with 
a  like  number  of  hogs,  and  often  does,  than  the  possessor 
of  a  plethoric  bank  account.  A  restricted  area,  make- 
sliift  shelter  and  the  less  expensive  feeds,  handled  in  a 
small  way  but  to  best  advantage,  may  be  utilized  for  the 
attainment  of  a  much  higher  status. 


PRACTICAL  POINTS  IN    BREEDING  bg 

Selection  according  to  type  is  of  greater  importance 
than  selection  by  breed,  for  the  hitter  is  controlled  mainly 
by  the  owner's  situation  and  personal  tastes,  but  the  type 
has  to  do  with  the  constitution,  capacity  and  general 
merit  of  the  hog.  and.  whatever  the  breed,  there  are  cer- 
tain points  that  make  for  a  good  or  a  poor  hog,  as  they 
may  be  found  prevailing  or  lacking. 

A  rather  short,  broad,  more  or  less  concave  face, 
wide  between  the  eyes,  terminated  sometimes,  but  not 
always,  by  a  somewhat  upturned  muzzle,  is  deemed 
extremely  important  for  \vhat  it  suggests  with  further 
reference  to  the  individual  possessing  it.  It  says  to  the 
hog's  owner,  "This  animal  is  of  a  quiet  disposition,  and 
has  strong  digestive  and  assimilative  powers,  likely  to 
extract  the  most  nutriment  from  the  food  consumed, 
and  convert  it  into  valuable  product,  with  small  prob- 
ability of  wasting  much  of  it  through  restless  energy." 

The  well-rounded  and  somewhat  prominent  jowl, 
along  with  the  short  head,  suggests  quick-feeding  (jual- 
ity  and  early  maturity  in  the  animal  managed  for  these 
objects. 

A  medium-sized,  soft,  silky  ear.  somewhat  tliin  and 
inclined  to  droop,  goes  in  most  breeds  with  high  fpiality 
and  light  offal,  as  large,  heavy  ears  and  tail,  thick  skin 
and  coarse  hair  and  bone  go  with  flabbiness  and  heavy 
offal :  while  the  erect,  foxy,  pointed  ear.  straight,  almost 
convex  face,  and  sharp,  long  nose  generally  advertise 
a  too  nervous  activity,  poor  fattening  qualities,  and 
perhaps  viciousness. 


yO  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

A  deep  chest,  which  is  wide  between  the  forelegs, 
indicates  that  the  animal  is  probably  of  robust  constitu- 
tion, with  plenty  of  lung  room  for  deep  breathing ;  it  also 
signifies  a  hardiness  that  successfully  resists  or  repels 
the  many  diseases  which  seem  to  constantly  lie  in  wait 
for  the  defenseless  pig. 

A  not  too  long,  slightly  arched  back,  broad  by  being 
well  packed  with  muscle  (lean  meat )  on  each  side  of  the 
spinal  column,  which  constitutes  the  part  known  as  ten- 
derloin, tells  of  strength  in  various  ways,  as  well  as  of 
added  weight. 

If  the  top  of  the  rump  is  built  backward  quite  level, 
without  much  slant,  to  the  setting  on  of  the  tail,  not  too 
low  down,  and  the  thighs  are  fleshy,  full  and  large,  firm 
rather  than  flabby,  and  well  meated  in  the  twist,  with 
the  flesh  spread  thickly  toward  the  hocks,  it  means  a 
large  ham ;  and  it  need  not  be  said  that  the  ham  is  a 
considerable  proportion  of  the  very  highest  priced  meat 
in  the  carcass.  This  is  an  important  consideration  to 
grower  and  butcher. 

Sides  of  considerable  length  and  depth,  with  an  even 
underline,  mean  a  goodly  weight  of  meat,  which,  if  not 
extremely  fat  and  thick,  are  the  material  for  a  high 
quality  of  bacon;  while,  if  very  fat,  they  make  much  of 
what  is  known  as  "side-meat."  esteemed  by  those  who  do 
hard  labor  as  their  most  economical  and  palatable  animal 
food. 

Rather  short,  stocky  legs  are  likely  to  be  found  on  the 
pig  with  the  deep  sides,  and  are  much  of  an  index  to 
the  animal's  general  character  and  constitution.     They 


I'RACTICAL  POINTS  IN   BREEDING  7I 

should  be  neither  too  tine  and  small,  nor  too  large  and 
spong-y,  but  amply  strong  for  supporting  the  animal  at 
any  age  or  weight.  The  ankles  should  be  strong,  so 
tliat  the  hog  stands  hrml}-  and  walks  squarely  on  short, 
broad  feet,  without  difficulty  and  without  signs  of  being 
in  any  wise  crippled.  Faulty  breeding  and  a  corn  diet 
lor  many  generations  have  tended  to  defective,  sprawl- 
ing feet,  and  weakness  in  the  low^er  limbs  of  many  of 
the  otherwise  almost  perfect  swine.  These  are  defects 
which  breeders  should  strive  to  overcome  by  selection, 
mating  and  properly  balanced  diet,  .\nimals  so  vitally 
weak  in  one  part  are  likely  to  ha\e  kintlred  weaknesses 
in  other  parts  such  as  no  careful  breeder  wishes  to  pos- 
sess or  propagate. 

Abundant  hair,  lively  and  somewhat  fine  and  soft, 
growing  out  of  a  pliable  skin,  which  is  neither  thick 
nor  papery,  and  free  from  mangy  conditions,  tells  the 
story  of  robust  health,  vigor,  thrift  and  active  circula- 
tion. 

The  ideal  hog  should  not  be  too  sleepy  and  sluggish, 
nor,  on  the  other  hand,  restless  and  uneasy.  Free  action 
and  a  bright,  sprightly  manner  are  signs  of  good  diges- 
tion and  good  health.  If  he  is  a  comfortable,  good- 
natured,  friendly  creature,  wide-awake,  disposed  to  visit 
with  his  owner,  instead  of  running  away  from  him,  and 
has  the  other  points  of  excellence  mentioned,  he  can 
scarcely  fail  to  be  a  joy  to  his  possessor  and  approxi- 
mate, in  the  eyes  of  many,  a  thing  of  beauty. 

Balanced  breeding  is  as  essential  as  balanced  feeding: 
the  burden  of  excellence  should  not  be  placed  upon  the 


72  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

boar  alone,  nor  solely  upon  the  sow,  and  it  is  only  by  a 
combination  of  the  merits  from  both  parents  that  the 
best  results  are  had.  It  is  not  good  breeding  when  his 
sows  ha\e  become  so  effeminate  and  so  high-bred  that 
the  owner  is  led  to  think  he  must  buy  a  coarse,  rangy 
boar  to  correct,  b}'  what  amounts  to  violence,  the  defi- 
ciencies which  are  the  result  of  wrong  methods.  The 
boar  and  sow  should  complement  each  other,  and,  as 
a  general  rule,  the  sows  should  be  roomy,  broad  and 
maternal  in  appearance,  while  the  boar  ought  to  be  more 
compact,  and  well  built,  yet  none  the  less  robust,  rugged, 
and  masculine.  The  rule  is  a  good  one  that  what  one 
parent  lacks  in  desirable  qualities  should  be  conspicuous 
in  the  other,  but  it  is  a  requirement  the  necessity  for 
which  should  be  prevented  so  far  as  possible,  the  better 
procedure  being  to  prevent  serious  lack  of  quality,  con- 
formation, or  stamina  in  either  sires  or  dams. 

Progress  in  breeding  has  not  been  without  its  develop- 
ment of  bad  tendencies.  Probably  the  most  noticeable 
retrogression  in  later  years  has  been  toward  too  weak 
bone  and  cartilage.  The  heavier  types,  or  what  are 
sometimes  called  the  "lard  hogs,"  often  lack  the  firmness 
of  bone  and  strong  ligaments  their  weight  requires.  No 
one  breed  is  by  any  means  the  sole  sinner  in  this  respect, 
nor  is  it  a  defect  confined  to  the  hog  of  pedigree.  It  is 
evident  from  tlie  frequent  complaints  of  "hogs  breaking 
down ;"  and  the  inability  of  a  hog  to  stand  firmly  up  on 
his  toes,  with  a  pastern  joint  but  slightly  curved,  tells 
the  tale  of  insufficiency  of  hard,  firm  bone  stayed  by  firm 
connecting    tissues.      The    pasterns    should    be    slightly 


PRACTICAL  POINTS  IN  BREEDING  'J'i^ 

Springy ;  not  depressed  so  the  dew  claws  tend  to  drop  on 
the  ground.  It  is  highly  important  that  deficiency  in 
bone  and  ligament  be  avoided  by  the  selection  of  breed- 
ing stock  that  will  stand  up  well  on  its  feet,  and  equally 
as  urgent  that  the  breeder  should  keep  in  mind  the  dete- 
riorating effects  of  feeding  corn  exclusively,  and  guard 
against  sacrificing  proper  framework  because  a  carcass 
of  fat  may  appear  less  expensive. 

Breeding  from  immature  animals  is  not  to  be  com- 
mended. It  has  no  particular  effect  upon  early  maturity, 
unless  through  the  possible  stunting  of  the  pigs  because 
of  the  fact  that  their  dam  has  not  o1)tained  her  own 
proper  development.  Mature  parents  will  yield  larger, 
healthier  and  more  robust  litters,  in  every  way  better 
equipped  to  bring  the  profit  the  owner  is  working  for. 
During  pregnancy  the  sow  is  compelled  to  do  double 
duty  in  sustaining  herself  and  building  her  young,  and 
if  she  is  forced  to  provide  growth  for  herself  as  well  as 
for  a  litter  of  pigs  she  cannot  be  expected  to  do  full 
justice  in  either  behalf,  even  if,  as  is  frequently  not  the 
case,  she  is  provided  with  proper  care  and  food.  A  suc- 
cessful Illinois  breeder  with  large  experience  has  well 
said :  "The  common  practice  of  each  year  selecting 
young  gilts  to  breed  and  breeding  them  to  young  boars 
has  done  more  to  reduce  stamina  and  prolificacy  than 
any  other  one  thing;  besides,  it  reduces  the  size  and 
number  of  pigs  at  birth.  We  have  never  discarded  a 
sow  that  proved  a  good  breeder  until  she  was  so  old  that 
she  quit  breeding.  We  have  kept  sows  until  ten  and 
12  years  old,  and  one  imtil  she  was   13.     It  does  not 


74  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

cost  much  to  carry  them  over  from  the  time  they  are 
through  suckhng  until  the  next  Htter  is  farrowed." 

Breeding  should  first  of  all  make  for  stamina,  no 
matter  what  type  or  color  may  have  heen  the  hreeder's 
selection.  Any  tendencies  which  point  to  impairment  of 
constitution  are  likely  to  be  accentuated  in  the  offspring, 
and,  persisted  in,  will  sooner  or  later  bring  a  l^reeder  to 
grief.  Probably  the  greatest  fault  of  improved  swine 
breeding  is  the  mating  and  striving  for  a,  too  great  re- 
hnement,  especially  by  breeders  of  pure-breds,  and  indi- 
cations of  this  should  cause  the  breeder  immediate  con- 
cern. 

This  does  not  necessarily  mean  that  Razor-Back  or 
other  unci\ilized  blood  is  required  to  restore  or  add  vigor, 
or  that  new  breeds  are  essential  because,  perchance, 
many  hogs  of  noble  lineage  appear  to  have  been  too 
much  pampered,  or  are  delicate  or  effeminate.  There  is 
abundant  corrective  material  in  each  of  the  well-recog- 
nized and  established  improved  breeds,  and  the  man  who 
aspires  to  attain  any  high  place  as  a  breeder  and  looks 
for  foundation  stock  from  other  sources  is  but  throwing 
his  time  and  his  money  away. 

'Tf  you  want  to  get  the  largest  size  possible  in  your 
boar  and  sow."  says  a  prominent  and  very  successful 
hog  raiser,  "do  not  use  them  until  well  toward  maturity, 
or  at  least  until  a  year  old.  This  will  give  a  chance  for 
large  growth  before  they  are  put  to  breeding,  and  will, 
in  the  case  of  the  sow,  make  her  about  i6  tnonths  old 
before  she  farrows.  If  w^ell  fed  and  properly  cared  for, 
she  should  weigh  400  pounds  or  more  and  farrow  strong 


PRACTICAL  POINTS  IN  BREEDING  75 

pig-s  of  good  size.  If  the  sow  proves  a  good  breeder  and 
stickler,  I  would  recommend  raising  two  litters  a  year 
from  her  till  she  is  too  old  to  produce  well.  In  our  own 
business  we  are  great  believers  in  old  breeding  animals, 
and  sometimes  keep  them  till  ten  to  12  years  old." 

In  many  phases  of  swine  husbandry  the  question  of 
location  or  climate  has  an  important  bearing.  Where 
mild  weather  is  apt  to  be  the  rule  in  late  fall  and  early 
s[)ring,  breeding  for  two  litters  a  year  will  obviously  be 
considered  in  a  different  light  than  in  a  section  much 
farther  north.  The  breeder  in  Canada  or  on  the  Atlan- 
tic coast  will  modify  many  matters  regarding  breed  or 
feeds  that  are  accepted  gospel  in  the  corn  belt.  Locally, 
the  extent  and  kind  of  pasture  at  the  breeder's  disposal, 
like  his  other  facilities  and  resources,  will,  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent,  influence  his  practices. 

Investigations  show  that  the  litters  will  average  about 
an  equal  division  of  sexes  at  l)irth.  The  United  States 
De|)artment  of  Agriculture  received  reports  in  1907  of 
the  litters  of  1.477  sows,  in  24  states,  which  included 
the  Berkshire,  Poland-China,  Duroc- Jersey,  Chester 
\\1iite.  Large  Yorkshire,  Hampshire,  Tamworth  and 
Ohio  Improved  Chester  breeds.  The  average  litter  was 
about  nine  pigs  to  the  sow,  and  of  13.285  pigs.  6,6^0 
were  boars  and  6,625  sows.  This  is  relatively  201  boar 
pigs  to  200  sow  pigs,  or  almost  an  equal  number  of 
each  sex. 

INBREEDING 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  against  inbreeding, 
and  it  is  a  problem  in  dealing  with  wliich  much  judgment 


70  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

and  discrimination  are  necessary.  Indiscriminate  in- 
breeding is  reprehensible  in  the  extreme,  and  should  be 
preached  against  in  season  and  out  of  season,  but  judi- 
cious inbreeding  has  made  possible  the  superior  intli- 
viduals,  families  and  l)reeds  now  so  common  in  all  im- 
proved animal  husbandry.  Inbreeding  in  itself  is  not  to 
be  inveighed  against  so  much  as  the  mating  of  animals 
liable  to  reproduce  undesirable  qualities.  A  summing 
up,  in  a  sentence,  of  what  the  experience  of  the  years 
has  demonstrated  as  to  inbreeding  would  be  this :  Super- 
vised by  an  artist,  inbreeding  is  admirable;  in  the 
hands  of  a  bungler,  it  may  be  worse  than  bad. 

N.  H.  Gentry  of  Missouri,  known  everywhere  as  one 
of  the  most  successful  swine  improvers  and  breeders  in 
any  country,  says :  "My  experience  in  inbreeding  is 
that  by  it  we  intensify  what  we  have,  let  it  be  good  or 
bad,  let  it  be  weak  or  strong  in  constitution.  The  theory 
advanced  by  the  mass  of  people,  to  the  efifect  that  we 
diminish  size  and  weaken  constitution,  is  all  wrong  unless 
the  strain  we  are  inbreeding  lacks  size  as  a  rule,  or  lacks 
constitution.  Animals  with  plenty  of  size  and  a  vigorous 
constitution  can  have  these  traits  intensified  as  certainly 
as  we  can  lessen  them  by  inbreeding  with  strains  lacking 
these  essential  traits.  If  we  can  intensify  the  one  it 
seems  ti:)  me  as  reasonable  that  we  can  the  other;  so  a 
man's  success  in  inbreeding  will  depend  upon  what  he  has 
to  inbreed  with.  Rightly  and  intelligently  done,  I  have 
never  been  alile  to  detect  any  bad  results  whatever  from 
inbreeding.  It  has  always  been  strange  to  me  that  almost 
every  person  who  has  never  given  the  subject  any  study 


PRACTICAL  POINTS  IN  BREEDING  77 

whatever  has  a  decided  notion  tliat  inbreeding  is  dan- 
gerous. I  presume  our  fathers  tell  us  this  simply  be- 
cause their  fathers  told  them  so  and  their  grandfathers 
before  them,  and  not  one  in  many  thousands  has  ever 
given  the  matter  an}-  trial  or  serious  thought.  Even 
with  a  trial  it  does  not  follow  that  every  case  will  be  a 
success,  any  more  than  the  mating  of  animals  not  re- 
lated will  be  a  success  in  every  case.  The  animals  mated, 
whether  kin  or  not.  must  be  suited  to  produce  good  re- 
sults :  that  is.  have  no  weakness  in  common,  and  as  much 
good  as  possible." 

A.  J.  Lovejoy  of  Illinois,  a  close  and  practical  observer 
in  the  business  of  breeding  the  highest  class  of  Berk- 
shires,  expresses  this  belief:  "We  are  believers  in  quite 
close,  even  inbreeding.  We  find  the  greatest  show  ani- 
mals closely  inbred.  Sires  to  half-sisters  is  the  most 
common  form  of  close  breeding,  though  cousins,  nephews 
and  nieces,  and  even  brothers  and  sisters,  are  bred  to- 
gether with  great  success.  It  of  course  requires  good 
judgment  in  mating  animals  that  are  particularly  strong 
in  individual  merit.  Should  each  have  a  bad  defect  in 
any  way,  we  would  expect  that  to  be  more  manifest  in 
the  offspring,  and  likewise  the  good  points  would  be 
better ;  so  i  f  one  mates  equally  good  specimens  the  pro- 
duce will  be  an  improvement.  There  is  no  other  sire  of 
any  breed  so  prepotent  as  an  inbred  sire.  When  we  get 
to  the  point  where  we  feel  the  need  of  outside  blood  we 
mate  an  imported  sow  with  our  best  boar,  and  from  this 
litter  we  select  a  boar  to  use  on  the  get  of  his  own  sire 
from  other  sows  in  the  herd  :  that  is,  we  breed  this  boar 
on  his  own  half-sisters." 


-8  SWINE  Ii\  AMERICA 

Professor  Eugene  Davenport  reaches  the  conchision 
tliat  "anyone  who  will  take  tlie  trouble  to  study  the  pedi- 
grees of  famous  families  in  almost  any  line  of  stock 
breeding  will  lind  that  the  foundation  blood  is  most  in- 
tensely bred.  Indeed,  the  practical  breeder  working  with 
material  that  is  really  of  distinctive  and  peculiar  merit 
comes  soon  to  the  point  at  which  close  breeding  is  inev- 
itable, and  he  must  face  the  issue  sooner  or  later  if  he 
is  to  make  au}^  real  use  of  liis  valuable  creations.  To 
breed  them  out  is  but  to  dissipate  their  excellence,  and 
the  only  practical  course  is  close  breeding." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Boar:  Selection  and  Management 

Success  with  the  boar  involves  careful  and  timely  se- 
lection, and  a  management  always  influenced  by  the  fact 
that  the  head  of  the  herd,  if  incompetent,  or  ill-bred  and 
ill-fed,  can  degrade  herd  standards  even  when  mated 
with  the  best  of  sows,  while,  if  he  is  what  he  should  be, 
the  produce  of  inferior  sows  will  in\ariably  be  improved 
by  his  use.  He  is  sire  for  the  pigs  of  many  dams,  and 
his  general  influence  is,  therefore,  much  greater  than 
that  of  any  sow  can  possibly  be. 

It  matters  not  how  many  sows  a  man  has,  or  how  much 
pains  he  may  have  taken  tliat  they  be  of  the  highest  qual- 
ity, if  he  permits  this  ((uality  to  1)e  neutralized  by  the  use 
of  an  inferior  boar.  However  well  the  boar  may  look,  if 
in  breeding  he  is  a  mongrel — a  cross  of  this,  a  little  of 
that,  and  not  much  of  anything  in  particular;  or  if  indi- 
vidually he  is  well  bred,  l)ut  has  l)een  overworked,  over- 
fed, or  not  fed  enough  while  young,  or  perhaps  is  of 
delicate  constitution,  he  may,  and  likely  will,  beget  an  un- 
thrifty, weedy  progeny,  inheriting  largely  of  his  weak- 
nesses and  want  of  character,  with  very  little  of  the  good 
that  apparently  was  in  him.  By  one  or  two  seasons' 
use  of  such  a  sire  it  is  possible  to  undo  the  improve- 
ment in  a  herd  it  may  have  cost  years  of  painstaking 
effort  to  attain.     Hence,  in  choosino-,  one  of  the  first 


8o  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

and  principal  requisites  is  that  he  shall  be  well  bred ;  not 
simply  good  individually,  but  a  descendant  of  meritorious 
parents  on  the  side  of  both  sire  and  dam,  in  which  pos- 
session of  the  most  valuable  qualities  is  known  to  be 
inherent.  It  is  important  to  know  well  his  ancestry,  be- 
cause his  power  of  transmission  and  desirable  l)reeding 
qualities  cannot  otherwise  be  prejudged  with  any  degree 
of  accuracy.  The  standard  of  quality  maintained  by  his 
immediate  ancestry  is  the  safest  suggestion  of  what  he 
himself  will  do.  If  their  ancestors,  too,  have  clean  rec- 
ords in  this  respect,  and  their  descendants  have  ecpialed  or 
improved  upon  them,  that  much  is  in  favor  of  estimating 
the  boar  as  a  probably  good  sire.  If.  on  the  other  hand, 
they  have  produced  litters  of  varying  and  unprofitable 
types,  mixed  lots  of  pigs,  without  uniformity,  unsatis- 
factory alike  in  appearance,  in  growth  and  in  profit,  it  is 
indeed  wisdom  to  avoid  selecting  a  boar  likely  to  trans- 
mit family  tendencies  of  that  kind. 

The  pedigree  is  simply  a  certificate  of  ancestry,  and 
unless  it  shows  good  ancestry  is  of  no  more  practical 
value  than  that  much  waste  paper.  It  should  back  up  the 
animal,  but  if  the  animal  fails  to  back  up  the  pedigree  as 
well  there  is  probably  something  wrong  in  one  or  the 
other,  and  "hands  off"'  would  be  good  advice. 

THE  MATTER  OF  CHOICE 

The  average  farmer  cannot  afford  an  extremely  high- 
priced  boar,  and,  while  the  l)oar  that  will  bring  $5,000 
may,  in  the  right  place,  pay  a  profit  on  the  investment, 
the  ordinary  breeder  is  compelled  to  do  the  best  he  can 


THE  boar:  selection  and  management         8i 

with  the  money  at  his  command.  Although  the  buyer  of 
a  boar  may  feel  that  his  limit  in  price  is  restricted,  he 
should  be  determined  to  secure  the  best  his  resources  will 
permit,  even  though  he  makes  somewhat  of  a  sacrifice  to 
do  so.  In  any  event,  the  animal  that  he  selects  should  be 
pure-bred,  of  such  breed  as  the  owner  may  deem  best, 
for  if  not  pure  he  cannot  be  depended  on  to  stamp  his 
own  qualities  on  his  offspring,  as  only  thoroughbreds  do. 
The  boar  of  mixed  and  unknown  breeding  is  to  be 
shunned  as  a  delusion  and  a  snare.  If  the  Berkshire  or 
a  Berkshire  cross  is  preferred,  a  registered  Berkshire 
boar  should  be  used.  If  the  Poland-China  seems  most 
suitable,  use  a  pure  Poland-China  boar;  or  if  the  Duroc- 
Jersey  cross  promises  the  best  results,  use  a  pure  Duroc- 
Jersey  boar.  Do  the  same  with  one  of  any  breed  that 
may  be  ])ref erred.  To  use  a  sire  that  is  a  mixture  of 
several  breeds,  however  meritorious  or  pure  they  may 
individuall}^  be,  is  likely  to  mean  poor,  uncertain  and  un- 
satisfactory progress. 

There  are  certain  attributes  belonging  to  a  good  boar 
which  should  appeal  alike  to  the  man  w^ho  can  make  but  a 
small  outlay  and  to  him  whose  object  is  to  get  the  best  re- 
gardless of  cost.  The  buyer  should  be  familiar  with  these 
and  should  see  them,  as  far  as  is  possible,  in  the  animal 
he  selects.  They  will  not  all  be  prominent  in  one  animal, 
but,  so  far  as  range  of  selection  will  permit,  they  ought 
to  be  characteristic  in  him,  and  are  worth  both  time  and 
effort,  and  perhaps  some  additional  money,  to  secure. 
The  breeder  may  find  it  profitable  to  keep  in  mind  that 
it  is  not  so  much  the  extra  $5  or  $10  or  $15  he  may  be 


«2  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

called  upon  to  give  for  the  right  boar  as  it  is  the  addi- 
tional price  his  pigs  will  be  intrinsically  worth  and  will 
bring,  and  it  is  through  them  that  the  extra  cost  and 
more  will  be  returned. 

MASCULINITY  ESSENTIAL 

Masculinity  in  the  boar'  is  a  characteristic  always  to  be 
sought.  A  strong  development  of  the  head,  neck,  shoul- 
ders, bones  and  organs  of  reproduction  are  very  impor- 
tant, as  they  suggest  three  most  essential  qualities :  Vigor. 
prepotency  and  constitution.  Masculinity  should  be  in- 
dicated by  strength,  vitality  and  stamina,  but  it  need  not. 
even  in  the  remotest  way,  denote  coarseness.  A  fine 
external  form  is  the  result  of  a  superior  internal  organ- 
ism. A  masculine  head,  stout,  well-crested  neck,  broad 
and  deep  chest,  smooth  but  well-developed  shoulders, 
wide  and  well-coupled,  well-tieshed  back,  ribs  well 
sprung,  strong  loins,  large  heart  girth,  deep  sides,  ready 
action,  strong  legs  and  ankles  and  upright  feet  are  all 
useful  points  to  carefully  consider  in  the  selection  of  a 
herd  boar.  A  short,  broad  face,  with  round,  heavy  under 
jaw,  and  thick,  short  neck,  indicate  strong  vitality  and 
assimilating  powers,  two  functions  requisite  in  every 
first-class,  meat-producing  animal.  Width  between  the 
forelegs  and  large  girth  immediately  behind  them  denote 
room  for  large  and  active  lungs,  the  very  best  foundation 
for  any  animal. 

Ribs  that  are  long  and  well  sprung  outward  from  the 
back  show  capacity  of  stomach.  The  broad  loin  and  well- 
developed  ham  are  signs  of  active  kidneys.     A  clean, 


THE  boar:  selection  and  management        53 

fine  and  elastic  skin,  covered  with  soft,  lively  hair,  free 
from  bristles,  denotes  a  healthy  liver  and  freedom  from 
internal  fever.  A  fine  muzzle  and  limbs,  clean,  small 
joints,  and  standing  square  upon  the  feet,  denote  sub- 
stance, strength  and  firmness  in  the  animal's  framework ; 
while  the  dished  or  concave  face  and  slightly  drooping 
ear  are  unerring  signs  of  an  easy  keeper  and  a  quiet, 
contented  disposition.  These  are  some  of  the  features 
demanded  in  a  good  boar,  and  such  an  animal  in  perfect 
condition  will  not  be  sluggish  and  clumsy,  but  will  have 
a  lively,  animated  manner  and  move  about  freely  and 
nimbly,  unless  kept  in  too  close  confinement  on  too  much 
fattening  or  other  unsuitable  food.  Each  point  of  excel- 
lence should  make  for  symmetry,  and  properly  related 
parts  give  compact,  desirable  form.  A  boar  highly  de- 
veloped in  one  part  with  another  elsewhere  noticeably 
weak  is  not  to  be  taken  in  preference  to  one  of  all- 
around  moderate  excellence  of  development,  except 
where  such  an  undue  development  appears  to  be  needed 
because  of  its  lack  in  the  sows.  This  is  a  point  which 
should  always  command  attention.  \Miat  the  sows 
lack  or  have  too  much  of  in  bone  or  build  or  qual- 
ity ought  to  be  guarded  against  in  the  boar.  Thus,  if  the 
sows  are  too  refined  and  their  development  appears  to 
have  been  overshot,  there  is  an  object  in  allowing  some- 
what of  coarseness  in  the  boar.  This  should  be  guarded 
against  where  possible,  in  selection  of  the  sows,  as  well 
as  the  boar,  by  aiming  toward  a  uniformity  of  type 
without    extremes    or    weaknesses;    but    consideration 


84  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

should  be  given  to  defects  apparent  in  the  sows  when 
the  boar  is  selected. 

Strength  of  leg  in  bone,  tendon,  ligament  and  muscle 
is  important,  and  the  animal  with  weak  pasterns  should 
be  avoided.  The  boar  that  cannot  stand  up  squarely 
on  his  feet  is  likely  to  prove  of  unsatisfactory  breeding 
service.  Much  is  said  in  the  farm  papers  about  hogs 
"breaking  down,"  a  condition  which  may  result  from 
wrong  feeding,  but  which,  regardless  of  its  first  cause, 
no  breeder  wishes  to  perpetuate  by  weakly  built  sires  or 
dams.  Danger  from  this  infirmity  is  not  to  be  lost  sight 
of.  An  effeminate  frame,  delicate  features  and  legs  and 
a  tendency  to  walk  upon  the  pastern  bones  stamp  the 
boar  as  wrongly  fed,  overbred  or  of  a  faulty  ancestry, 
accordingly  weak  in  constitution,  and  likely  to  be  a 
disappointing  sire. 

SOME   EXTERIOR  INDICATIONS 

As  S.  M.  Shepard  has  well  said  in  his  excellent  book, 
"The  Hog  in  America,"  and  also  to  the  author,  the  skin, 
hair,  eyes  and  tail  are  all  outside  sentinels  which  tell 
whether  the  internal  organs  are  working  properly.  "If 
the  eye  is  clear  and  bright,  the  hair  smooth  and  lying 
close  to  the  body,  and  the  skin  soft,  elastic,  moist  or  oily 
to  the  touch,  and  the  tail  carried  in  a  curl,  the  internal 
organs  are  doing  their  duty:  on  the  contrary,  if  the  eye 
is  red,  watery  or  dull,  the  hair  dry,  harsh  and  standing  up 
from  the  body,  the  skin  harsh  and  dry,  and  the  tail  hang- 
ing straight  and  lifeless,  there  is  something  wrong  inside, 


THE  BOAR  ;  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  85 

and  as  these  symptoms  are  more  or  less  intense,  they  in- 
dicate acute  or  chronic  weakness,  and  lack  of  constitu- 
tion. Well  may  it  therefore  be  said  that  cunstitution  is 
of  the  greatest  importance.  There  is  always  unity  in 
animal  nature.  A  fine  external  form  is  the  result  of  su- 
perior internal  organism.  Then,  in  selecting  breeding 
swine,  select  those  which  have  broad,  straight,  or 
slightly  arched  backs,  large,  deep  chests,  full  sides  and 
flanks,  good,  tough,  stout  feet  and  legs,  bright,  lively 
eyes,  smooth,  soft  and  close-lying  hair,  and  a  soft,  elastic 
skin.  Such  an  animal  will  likely  have  a  good  constitu- 
tion. On  the  other  hand,  avoid  sunken  and  narrow  backs, 
flat,  narrow  chests  and  sides,  pinched  flanks,  weak, 
crooked  or  deformed  legs  and  feet,  harsh,  dry  hair,  dull, 
red  or  watery  eyes,  and  a  harsh,  dry  skin." 

A  GOOD  DISPOSITION  VALUABLE 

A  boar's  disposition  has  much  to  do  with  his  work. 
There  have  been  famous  boars  with  ugly  dispositions,  and 
good  animals  are  sometimes  ill-behaved  because  of  asso- 
ciation with  indifferent  owners  who  lacked  in  patience 
and  had  bad  tempers.  These  facts  should  be  given  due 
weight,  yet  it  should  be  remembered  that  in  disposition 
the  hog  that  is  wanted  is  one  that  comes  near  to  have  his 
back  scratched.  A  friendly,  manageable,  quiet  dispo- 
sition is  a  great  aid  to  profitable  swine  raising,  while 
the  boar  of  quarrelsome,  fighting  nature  is  a  money  loser. 
Much  of  this,  too,  is  as  applicable  to  the  owner  as  to  the 
animal.  Fretfulness.  natural  at  the  breeding  age.  or  in 
surroundings  tending  to  promote  it,  should  not  be  mis- 


86  SWINE  IX   AMERICA 

taken  fur  a  bad  disposition.  At  certain  periods  the  boar 
is  naturally  a  restless  animal,  and  then  he  requires  more 
than  the  ordinarily  judicious  management,  the  lack  of 
which  may  make  him  an  intractable,  uneasy  or  vicious 
creature,  but  in  the  mature  animal  this  is  likely  to  be  de- 
\eloped  one  way  or  the  other  so  that  his  disposition  may 
be  judged  with  measurable  correctness. 

SELECT  THE  BOAR  AT  HIS  HOME 

The  best  place  to  select  a  boar  is  at  his  home  on  the 
farm,  where  he  will  be  found  in  accustomed  surroundings 
and  in  everyday  dress.  Here  a  far  better  estimate  may 
be  made  of  his  merits  and  defects  and  his  family  char- 
acteristics than  under  the  dress  parade  glare  and  mani- 
curing" of  an  exhibition,  or  the  artificial  conditions  sur- 
rounding and  in  an  auction  sale  ring.  His  disposition  and 
that  of  his  caretaker,  which  are  of  importance,  may  here 
be  observed,  and  an  idea  gained  of  the  methods  and  man- 
agement in  his  bringing  up.  Not  a  few  buyers  are 
willing  to  pay  a  larger  price  for  an  animal  in  show  con- 
dition, but  this  is  not  always  wisdom.  An  abundance 
of  fat  may  conceal  serious  defects  which  would  be 
quickly  noticeable  in  an  animal  in  breeding  condition. 
As  a  rule  it  will  be  found  less  expensi\e  to  put  a  hog  ni 
show  condition,  if  that  is  desired,  than  to  pay  others 
for  doing  it.  The  average  breeder,  too,  lacks  the  skill 
to  safely  reduce  an  overfed  boar,  pampered  and  fitted 
for  the  show  circuit,  to  a  condition  and  form  for  great- 
est usefulness  in  a  herd,  and  attempt  to  do  so  may  result 
only  in  impotence  or  incfficienc}''  for  the  season,  if  not 


THE  uoar:  selection  Ax\d  management  87 

peniianeiitly,  and  perhaps  the  loss  outright  of  the  ani- 
mal itself.  At  his  home  the  boar's  family  characteristics 
and  breeding-  traits  may  be  better  learned  than  in  any 
other  place,  and  the  purchaser  can  better  discover  whether 
the  animal  selected  comes,  as  he  should,  in  a  majority  of 
cases,  from  a  family  or  strain  that  is,  as  he  himself 
should  be,  somewhat  more  compact  that  the  females 
upon  which  he  is  to  be  used,  or  if  he  is  otherwise  suit- 
able to  correct  in  the  otfspring  the  deficiencies  possessed 
by  the  sows. 

After  taking  a  boar  to  a  new  home  it  is  generally 
preferable,  at  first,  to  follow,  so  far  as  may  be  practi- 
cable, any  rational  system  (^f  management  and  feeding 
to  which  he  has  been  accustomed,  until  he  shall  have 
become  acquainted  with  his  new  attendant  and  surround- 
ings. 

CHOOSING  IJV  PERSONAL  INSPECTION 

\\'hene\-er  possible  tlie  breeder  ought  to  inspect  per- 
sonally the  animal  he  selects  as  his  herd  boar,  but  when 
he  finds  himself  unable  to  do  this  and  has  no  competent 
representative,  he  should  endeavor  to  make  the  best  se- 
lection possible  by  mail  by  detailing  his  needs,  and  the 
deficiencies  of  his  sows.  Ordering  by  mail  should  be 
considered  a  last  resort,  to  be  done  only  when  the  pur- 
cliaser  cannot  buy  near  home,  or  for  other  good  rea- 
sons is  unable  to  give  his  personal  attention  to  the 
matter.  When  that  is  the  case  the  purchase  should  be 
made  from  a  breeder  known  to  be  reputable,  and  the  needs 
of  the  bu}er  and  the  price  he  figures  on  paying  should  be 


88  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

definitely  stated  in  the  letter  as  the  attitude  of  one  who 
expects  the  best  possible  for  his  outlay.  All  men  who 
ha\e  had  much  to  do  with  the  selling  of  pure-bred  boars 
are  familiar  with  the  buyer  who  insists  that  "you  must 
get  him  down  as  low  as  you  can — he  must  be  cheap,  as  I 
have  written  to  a  number  of  other  breeders.''  A  man  of 
this  stamp  is  likely  to  want  a  boar  of  almost  impossible 
attainments  for  a  very  small  sum  of  money.  He  is  less 
likely  to  do  well  in  his  purchase  than  the  man  who  will 
frankly  state  the  type  of  boar  he  needs  and  the  amount  of 
money  he  can  afford  or  intends  to  invest.  The  chances 
are,  too,  that  the  latter  procedure  will  bring  much  the 
better  treatment. 

It  is  undeniable  that  many  who  pay  a  liljeral  price  for  a 
boar  that  suits  them  afterward  treat  him  in  such  a  way 
that  they  derive  but  small  benefit  from  the  investment. 
One  of  the  two  most  common  modes  of  mistreatment  is 
to  confine  him  in  a  close  pen,  where  he  is  deprived  of  ex- 
ercise and  fed  upon  the  richest  and  most  fattening  food 
the  establishment  affords,  and  lack  of  activity  and  virility 
are  the  results.  The  other  mode  is  to  turn  him  in  with 
an  unlimited  number  of  sows,  gilts  and  stock  hogs  to  fight 
and  fret  and  tease  until  he  becomes  the  shabbiest,  the 
most  ungainly,  unthrifty,  discreditable  hog  on  the  place. 
Uoth  of  these  extremes  are  to  be  avoided  and  a  more 
rational  method  followed  or  the  best  results  cannot  be 
secured.  While  too  close  confinement  is  bad,  it  is  not  so 
bad  as  to  allow  a  boar  to  roam  at  will  among  the  otlier 
hogs  of  the  farm,  where  he  is  as  much  out  of  place  as  a 
stallion  would  be  turned  loose  with  a  herd  of  horses. 


THE  BOAR  :  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  89 

When  a  new  boar  is  brought  to  strange  surroundings 
or  a  new  home  the  change  should  preferably  be  made 
some  six  or  eight  weeks  before  he  is  needed  for  service. 
If  from  a  distance  or  by  shipment  he  should  be  dipped, 
and  isolated  or  quarantined  for  half  of  this  period  to 
guard  against  the  possible  introduction  by  him  of  any 
disease.  No  matter  how  little  liability  to  disease  may 
come  from  his  former  home  there  is  still  the  chance  that 
lie  may  have  acquired  deadly  germs  in  transit.  Preven- 
tion is  always  safe. 

If  the  trip  has  been  a  long  or  hard  one  he  should  l)e 
lightly  fed  at  first,  and  any  desirable  changes  from  the 
feed  to  which  he  has  been  accustomed  should  be  made 
gradually.  Time  is  necessary  in  a  majority  of  instances 
to  get  the  boar  into  good  breeding  condition,  which  us- 
ually means,  if  he  is  from  the  shows  or  auctions,  that  he 
will  need  more  muscular  development  and  less  fat.  Ex- 
ercise antl  flesh-forming  foods  should  enter  into  his  care 
at  this  period.  Exercise  is  important  to  the  boar  when 
he  is  not  in  service  and  essential  to  develop  his  muscle  and 
vigor. 

PlJIZi:-\\I\MXG  NOT   PROOF  OF  EXCELLENCE 

The  fact  that  either  a  boar  or  sow  has  been  awarded  a 
prize,  of  whatever  grade,  at  an  exhibition,  does  not  neces- 
sarily prove  possession  of  unusual  excellence,  nor  should 
such  an  award  alone  be  accepted  for  a  moment  as  proof 
of  superiority  unless  the  circumstances  of  its  making  and 
tlie  extent  and  character  of  the  competition  met  are 
carefully  considered.  The  prize  mav  have  been  unavoid- 
ably i)laced  where  it  was  ])ecause  of  little  or  no  hi<>;li-class 


90  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

competition,  or  the  person  or  committee  making  the 
award  may  have  been  incompetent,  biased,  or  even  cor- 
rupt, although  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  author  that  very  few 
mis-awards  are  (hie  to  sheer  cHshonesty  on  the  judge's 
part.  aVgain,  whether  a  prize  winner  or  not,  an  animal 
liighly  fitted  with  a  view  to  its  successful  competition 
against  others  it  is  likely  to  encounter  in  the  hotly  con- 
tested show  ring  of  any  considerable  latter-day  exhibi- 
tion, while  possibly  not  injured  for  breeding,  certainly 
has  not  been  intrinsically  benefited  in  any  wise  thereby, 
unless  it  be  for  the  shambles.  The  fitting  may  reveal  a 
perfection  of  individual  quality  that  otherwise  could  be 
no  more  than  suspected,  but  it  adds  nothing  of  value  to, 
and  in  fact  may  detract  much  from,  any  improving 
qualities  transmissible  to  offspring.  Still  again,  an  ani- 
mal may  possess  an  individual  excellence  that  is  beyond 
question  (a  freak  or  sport  may  have  this),  yet  its  good 
looks  alone  give  no  reliable  assurance  that  its  progeny 
will  inherit  the  same  characteristics.  The  show  pig, 
champion  though  it  be,  is  not  perforce  the  best  purchase 
or  parent. 

THE  PEDIGREE 

As  Doctor  A.  S.  Alexander  of  the  Wisconsin  experi- 
ment station,  discussing  pedigree,  says,  it  is  a  record 
showing  the  animals  that  have  in  succession  entered  into 
the  breeding  of  the  individual.  "It  shows,  too,  that  he 
belongs  to  a  distinct  breed,  possessing,  therefore,  the  pre- 
potency of  that  breed,  and  in  addition  to  this  possession 
it  guarantees  a  certain  degree  of  individual  prepotency 


THE  boar:  selection  and  management        91 

dependent  upon  the  excellence  and  known  prepotency  of 
the  ancestors  on  each  side  of  the  pedigree.  To  insure 
both  breed  prepotency  and  individual  prepotency  the  ani- 
mal should  have  several  recorded  animals  upon  the  dam's 
side,  the  more  the  better,  and  the  more  certain  will  be  the 
good  breeding  qualifications  of  the  pedigreed  animal. 

"The  sires  should  be  of  equal  merit,  and  the  most  im- 
portant point  is  to  see  that  they  are  of  known  purity  of 
blood  and  individual  excellence ;  also  that  upon  neither 
side  is  there  an  objectionable  outcross  or  the  presence  of 
a  sire  or  dam  noted  for  unsoundness  or  other  objection- 
able trait,  character  or  feature.  Furthermore,  the  char- 
acter of  the  man  back  of  the  pedigree  should  be  taken  into 
account.  The  pedigree  is  comparatively  valueless  unless 
the  breeder  and  seller  are  noted  for  integrity;  nor  is  a 
pedigree  a  sufficient  criterion  of  merit  or  an  apology  for 
individual  imperfection  or  unsoundness.  The  animal 
sliould  be  a  good  individual,  and  if,  in  addition,  there  is  a 
long  line  of  excellent  ancestors  upon  both  sides  of  his 
pedigree,  there  will  be  good  reason  to  expect  that  he  will, 
with  considerable  fidelity,  transmit  to  his  progeny  the  true 
characteristics  of  his  breed,  those  of  his  family  and  those 
of  his  individuality. 

"In  some  instances  an  animal  with  a  long  line  of 
reputable  ancestors  is  himself  a  comparatively  poor  indi- 
vidual, yet  he  may  prove  an  impressive  sire,  and,  on  gen- 
eral principles,  the  somewhat  indifferent  individual  that 
has  a  fine  line  of  ancestors,  as  shown  by  his  pedigree,  is 
greatly  to  be  preferred  to  a  *scrub,'  grade  or  cross-bred 
animal  for  breeding  purposes.     We  say  this  for  the  good 


92  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

reason  that  his  progeny  will  be  quite  likely  to  partake  of 
the  good  qualities  of  the  ancestry  rather  than  the  indif- 
ferent qualities  of  the  individual.  There  are  many  ex- 
ceptions to  this  rule,  and  experiment  is.  therefore,  the 
sure  way  of  proving  the  prepotency  of  the  individual. 
It  is  always  best,  howe\'er,  to  choose  a  sire  that  has  both 
excellent  breeding  and  individual  excellence  of  form  and 
quality  in  every  respect." 

AGE   FOR   SELECTION 

It  does  not  follow  by  any  means  that  the  handsomest 
pig  will  make  the  best  boar,  and  selection  at  an  early,  im- 
mature age  involves  much  guesswork,  which  is  bad  policy 
in  any  corner  of  the  farm.  Possibly  the  other  fellow, 
who  comes  early,  and,  as  it  were,  buys  the  pig  in  a  poke, 
may  get  the  best,  but  under  the  law  of  averages  it  is  less 
expensive  to  pay  the  extra  dollars  for  the  animal  more 
nearly  matured  and  let  the  other  fellow  do  the  gambling. 
The  boar's  worth  and  possibilities  may  be  sized  up  then 
with  greater  certainty  and  with  a  degree  of  knowledge 
not  attainable  when  he  is  still  at  an  immature  age.  If  al- 
ready tested  he  has  then  available  proof  of  his  breeding 
quality.  At  the  same  time  it  is  desirable  to  make  a  se- 
lection and  do  the  moving  of  a  new  boar  long  enough  in 
advance  to  have  him  feel  at  home  in  his  new  quarters, 
and,  when  tlie  breeder  is  well  enough  situated  to  permit 
his  doing  so.  to  test  out  his  mating  qualifications  so  that 
it  may  be  known  with  greater  certainty  that  he  is  in 
those  respects  all  that  sliould  be  expected.     This,  in  many 


THE  boar:  selection  and  management        93 

cases,  is  not  feasible,  but  at  any  rate  the  boar  is  not  an 
animal  to  be  purchased  at  the  last  minute  before  he  is 
needed,  and  the  buyer  should  allow  himself  time  to  be 
sure  of  a  judicious  selection. 

L'or  heading-  a  farmer's  herd  it  is  much  more  desirable 
to  choose  a  boar  from  a  stock  that  has  shown  its  practi- 
cal worth  in  farm  pork  making-  than  one  from  a  so-called 
fashionable  ancestry,  and  he  should  have  been  reared 
under  about  such  conditions  as  will  surround  him  in  his 
new  home. 

\\niere  selection  of  a  young  boar  from  a  home  litter  is 
made  he  should  be  separated  from  his  mates  at  or  before 
he  is  five  months  of  age.  Many  breeders  favor  allowing 
him  the  companionship  of  one  or  more  male  hogs  of  simi- 
lar age,  castrated  or  otherwise,  in  order  gradually  to 
accustom  him  to  the  changing-  situation ;  and  for  other 
reasons  this  may  be  excellent. 

The  boar  of  eight  months  or  older  will  do  better  if  kept 
by  himself;  at  least,  he  should  not  be  where  sows  or  gilts 
may  arouse  him.  He  should  be  kept  in  a  comfortable 
pen,  with  a  lot  or  pasture  adjoining,  and  supplied  with  a 
\ariety  of  nutritious  food,  which  means  something-  more 
than  dry  corn  with  an  occasional  drink  of  diluted  dish- 
water. The  permanent  quarters  should  be  provided  with 
a  view  to  furnishing  sunlight,  exercise,  dry  warmth  and 
cleanliness.  These  should  be  so  located  that  the  so\vs 
may  be  conveniently  brought  to  him  for  service.  A 
large  pen  is  not  needed — ten  feet  square  will  do — but  a 
yard  and  pasture  should  each  be  adjacent.  The  yard  will 
be  needed  for  ser\ice  and  for  his  exercise  in  the  breeding 


94  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

season,  and  the  pasture,  which  may  be  an  acre,  or  less, 
should  afford  him  water,  shade,  grass,  alfalfa,  or  other 
succulent  food. 

A  pen  or  fence  sufficiently  high  and  strong  to  restrain 
the  other  hogs  of  the  farm  cannot  be  depended  on  to 
keep  the  boar  in  place,  and,  if  opportunity  offers,  he  may 
soon  become  extremely  unruly ;  consequently,  it  is  much 
the  best  to  keep  him  from  the  first  in  an  inclosure  which 
will  afford  him  no  practice  in  the  art  of  breaking  out.  A 
boar  that  has  once  learned  a  bad  habit,  especially  that  of 
breaking  from  his  inclosure,  will  thereafter  be  a  great 
deal  more  difficult  to  manage,  and  sometimes  one  which 
would  otherwise  have  been  entirely  tractable  is  made  dif- 
ficult of  restraint  because  the  fence  has  been  too  weak,  or 
in  some  other  way  he  has  been  permitted  to  escape.  If 
his  quarters  are  sufficiently  isolated  from  those  of  other 
hogs,  especially  sows  and  sow  pigs — some  of  which  are 
likely  to  be  in  heat  most  of  the  time — he  will  usually  be 
quiet  and  gentle;  in  fact,  a  pretty  well-behaved  hog, 
tiiough  much  depends  upon  his  natural  disposition  and 
more  upon  the  treatment  given  him.  Aged  boars  are 
sometimes  disposed  to  viciousness  and  to  use  their  tusks, 
but  even  then  they  are  no  more  dangerous  than  the  gen- 
tlest bull  or  stallion  may  be,  and,  of  course,  neither  is  de- 
sirable or  intended  for  a  household  pet  or  a  dooryard 
ornament. 

AGE   FOR  SERVICE 

As  to  the  age  at  which  the  boar  should  commence 
service  the  best  rule  is  to  avoid  service  during  imma- 


THE   boar:   selection   and    AIAxXAGExMENT  95 

tiirity.  Immature  sires  cannot  be  expected  to  beget  a 
vigorous  progeny.  Use  before  he  is  a  year  old  should 
mainly  be  with  a  Nievv  of  testing  his  ability,  and  such  tests 
should  be  infrequent.  He  may  sometimes  be  used  to  ad- 
vantage on  a  few  sows  after  eight  or  nine  months  old, 
but,  as  a  rule,  it  is  more  profitable  to  defer  service  while 
the  animal  is  attaining  the  best  of  his  growth.  At  a 
year  old  reasonable  service  will  do  no  harm,  and,  prop- 
erly kept,  he  should  be  at  his  best  as  a  sire  from  then  to 
five  years  old,  when  he  is  fully  developed  and  has  every 
advantage  over  a  partly  grown  pig;  the  finest,  strongest 
litters  are  invariably  obtained  from  large,  old  sows  bred 
to  matured  boars. 

The  first  service  may  require  considerable  patience.  A 
young  boar  will  sometimes  refuse  to  give  service  at  first, 
but  it  does  not  therefore  follow  that  he  wmII  not  be  a 
useful  animal.  He  may  generally  ])e  expected  to  give 
better  service  in  the  second  year  than  in  the  first. 

One  service  to  a  sow  is  sufticient,  and  from  it  she  will 
have  as  many  and  as  good  pigs  as  there  would  be  if  the 
boar  was  i^ermitted  to  chase  and  worry  her  for  three  days 
and  nights.  The  most  experienced  breeders  agree  in  this, 
and  will  allow  but  a  single  ser\ice.  Alany  breeders,  how- 
ever, do  not  seem  to  realize  that  double  service  to  a. sow 
is  the  equivalent  of  using  a  boar  on  two  different  sows, 
and  not  infrequently  a  breeder  who  would  vigorously 
combat  the  idea  of  allowing  two  or  more  services  in  a 
day  will  himself  leave  a  sow  with  a  boar  to  be  served  five 
or  si.x  times.  The  sow  should  be  brought  to  the  boar's 
quarters,  rdlowed  one  service  and  then  removed.     The 


96  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

service  should  be  a  satisfactory  one,  for  the  sow  may  be 
a  shy  breeder.  Service  is  generally  considered  prefer- 
able on  the  second  day  the  sow  is  in  heat. 

THRIFT  AND  FEED 

The  boar's  condition  should  always  be  that  of  thrift 
and  vigorous  health,  not  too  fat,  nor  yet  so  lean  that  as 
a  barrow  he  would  be  considered  unfit  for  pork.  If  too 
fat  he  will  be  clumsy,  slow,  and  in  no  wise  sure.  Discre- 
tion must  be  used  in  the  feeding  of  the  boar,  for  careless- 
ness in  this  respect  may  disqualify  him  for  the  season  or 
even  make  him  permanently  impotent.  It  is  possible  to 
so  poorly  feed  a  boar  that  his  progeny  will  be  exactly  the 
kind  his  owner  does  not  want.  His  feed  should  be 
nourishing  and  cooling,  and  if  corn  is  given  it  should 
be  tempered  with  feeds  which  are  somewhat  laxative,  and 
be  used  in  moderation,  \\hen  service  is  severe  his  exer- 
cise may  be  greatly  lessened,  and  his  proper  feeding  is  the 
means  of  balancing  this  inequality. 

Regarding  feed  for  a  young  boar,  N.  H.  Gentry  says : 
"Corn,  oats  and  wheat  ground  fine  and  mixed  in  a  thick 
slop,  with  clover  pasture,  make  a  splendid  ration.  Oil 
meal  tends,  I  think,  to  make  a  hog  too  soft.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  surpass  the  ration  of  soaked  shelled  corn 
(shelled  corn  soaked  in  pure  water  thirty-six  to  seventy- 
two  hours)  and  milk,  together  with  clover  pasture.  I  am 
a  firm  believer  in  the  simple,  natural  foods.  W.  A. 
Harris  used  to  say  that  he  bred  Shorthorns  that  thrived 
on  the  natural  foods  of  the  farm.  I  would  not  give 
much  for  a  hog  that  would  not  do  the  same." 


THE  BOAR  :  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  97 

\Vhen  not  in  service  succulent  feeds,  such  as  pasture  or 
yreen  forage,  should  prevail,  supplemented  by  shorts, 
middlings,  bran,  peas  or  other  nitrogenous  feed,  with  a 
little  corn.  In  winter  roots  will  prove  beneficial,  and 
may  be  used  with  bran,  shorts  and  corn  meal  or  similar 
feed.  Cut  clover  hay,  well  cured,  or  alfalfa,  is  advan- 
tageous. With  the  boar,  as  with  all  other  hogs,  a  variety 
of  food  is  relished  and  responded  to.  With  a  range  of 
grass  he  can  better  assimilate  a  ration  of  any  kind  of 
grain. 

TEMPORARY   IMPOTENCY 

In  case  a  boar  proves  impotent,  although  previously  a 
good  breeder,  he  should  be  examined  for  a  possible  in- 
jury or  some  ailment  which  may  interfere  with  copula- 
tion. Where  nothing  is  found  which  calls  for  treatment 
he  should  be  withdrawn  from  service,  permitted  oppor- 
tunity for  exercising  freely,  anfl  be  fed  a  light  diet.  At- 
tention should  be  given  to  the  condition  of  his  bowels, 
and,  if  necessary,  they  should  have  proper  regulation.  A 
dose  of  nux  vomica,  pulverized  dried  sulphate  of  iron  and 
pulverized  gentian  root,  15  grains  of  each,  mixed  with 
his  feed  twice  a  day,  is  recommended. 

Another  treatment  consists  in  giving  in  tlie  drinking 
water  once  a  day  a  tablespoonful  of  hyposulphite  of  soda 
dissolvefl  in  a  quart  of  water.  A  quart  of  boiled  wheat 
mixed  with  two  eggs  may  be  put  in  with  his  feed  for  a 
few  days.* 

A  boar  found  impotent  should  have  at  least  a  month's 
rest,  preferably  two  months,  with  the  run  of  a  pasture. 

*Vrterina.-y  Editor,  Breeder's  Gazctto. 


98  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

Even  the  use  of  the  whip  is  advisable  if  necessary  to 
make  him  exercise.  The  service  following  treatment  will 
be  experimental,  and,  if  unsatisfactory,  it  is  better  not  to 
take  further  risk  with  the  animal  unless  he  is  of  unusual 
\alue.  At  this  time,  as  in  the  beginning,  the  fact  should 
be  taken  into  account  that  the  condition  of  the  sow'S  may 
also  have  had  a  bearing  on  the  failure. 

Many  farmers  breed  less  than  a  dozen  sows,  on  an 
average,  at  any  one  season  of  the  year,  and  to  keep  a 
matured  boar  in  the  best  condition  is  felt  to  be  quite  an 
expense  by  one  man  v^^ith  so  few  sows.  Where  three  or 
four  swine  raisers  live  in  proximity  to  one  another  it  is 
no  doubt  the  best  and  cheapest  plan  for  them  jointly  to 
own  and  use  one  strictly  high-class  boar,  instead  of  each 
keeping  wholly  at  his  own  expense  one  that  '*he  thinks 
will  do,"  although  not  so  good  as  he  would  like  and 
would  afford  if  the  first  cost  and  subsequent  expense  and 
care  were  not  so  great.  Properly  managed,  one  boar 
would,  in  many  cases,  answer  every  purpose  as  well  as 
half  a  dozen  for  th'at  number  of  small  farmers,  and  his 
cost  and  keep,  if  shared  by  all.  would  scarcely  be  felt, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  temptation  to  use  some  mon- 
grel or  immature  pig  would  be  removed,  the  boar  would 
be  better  kept,  and  the  rivalry  naturally  resulting  would 
encourage  each  of  the  owners  to  keep  a  better  grade  of 
sows. 

PRACTICAL  TESTIMONY 

Practical  testimony  regarding  selection  and  manage-- 
ment  is  of  special  value  when  it  comes   from  men  of 


THE  BOAR  ;  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  99 

known  successful  experience.  The  paragraphs  that  fol- 
low give  a  little  such  testimony: 

"There  is  certainly  no  excuse  now  for  anybody  buying 
a  grade  boar,"  says  Henry  Wallace,  editor  of  Wallaces' 
Fanner.  "Comparatively  few  farmers  do.  Do  not 
economize  in  buying  the  boar,  provided  he  is  a  good  indi- 
vidual and  well  bred.  There  are  not  enough  good  hogs 
to  go  around.  A  wise  and  judicious  breeder  and  feeder 
is  very  apt  to  know  what  his  stock  is  worth  and  demand 
it  and  get  it.  Therefore,  do  not  let  five  or  ten  dollars 
stop  you  from  buying  the  animal  you  want." 

"A  boar  untried  and  out  of  condition  is  a  risky  chap," 
says  L.  N.  Bonham,  "that  the  prudent  man  will  test  be- 
fore he  risks  him  on  his  herd.  I  have  found  it  a  safe 
rule  to  hold  onto  the  good  sire  until  I  have  tested  another. 
It  is  sometimes  inconvenient  to  keep  an  old  boar  long- 
enough  to  see  what  the  young  one  will  prove  to  be,  but 
it  is  safest  not  to  put  all  our  eggs  in  one  basket." 

"I  don't  believe  in  using  a  boar  too  often,"  says  N.  H. 
Gentry.  "I  don't  like  to  use  him  immediately  after  feed- 
ing. Sometimes  we  use  a  boar  twice  a  day,  and  then 
probably  have  two  or  three  or  four  days  when  we  will 
not  use  him  at  all.  We  prefer  to  scatter  these  services 
along,  but  have,  of  course,  no  way  of  regulating  the  time 
when  sows  will  come  in  heat.  Sometimes  we  find  our- 
selves with  three  or  four  in  heat  and  must  use  a  boar  two 
or  three  times  a  day.  but  not  very  often.  If  I  use  a  boar 
twice  in  a  day  I  like  to  let  him  miss  service  afterward 
for  a  day  or  so.     I  think  once  a  day  is  doing  very  well." 

A  correspondent  of  the  Breeder's  Ga/:effe  visited  the 
herds  of  twenty-three  prominent  breeding  farms,  from 


ICX)  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

Lowell,  Mass.,  to  Edgar,  Neb.  His  report  showed  that 
the  most  successful  boars  are  treated  with  as  considerate 
attention  as  might  be  given  a  valuable  stallion  or  bull. 
"It  will  be  seen,"  he  summarized,  "that  the  hogs  that  are 
achieving  success  as  sires  are  not  kept  in  a  pen  and  fed 
corn  and  water.  Too  much  attention  cannot  be  given 
the  boar,  and  it  is  not  at  all  sufficient  that  he  be  fed  lib- 
erally only  when  in  service.  His  health  and  comfort 
should  be  looked  after  carefully  throughout  the  year.  If 
you  have  one  not  so  worth  looking  after,  dispose  of  him 
and  get  one  that  is,  even  if  he  costs  a  house  and  lot." 

A.  J.  Lovejoy,  who  sold  the  boar  Masterpiece  77000 
for  $2,500  in  1906,  the  highest  recorded  price  for  a  Berk- 
shire up  to  that  time,  said :  "So  far  as  handling  Master- 
piece or  any  other  boar  is  concerned,  we  give  him  lots  of 
exercise  and  good  hearty  feed,  keep  him  in  fair  breeding 
condition  and  do  not  use  him  too  much.  Our  manager  of 
the  hogs  would  only  let  Masterpiece  to  one  sow  a  day  for 
two  successive  days.  Then  he  would  have  him  rest  a 
day  and  use  him  another  two  days.  Every  time  he  is 
used  he  walks  forty  rods  from  his  home  to  the  breeding 
house.  The  sow  is  taken  from  her  mates  the  night  be- 
fore and  put  in  a  crate  where  she  can't  see  other  hogs. 
In  the  morning,  before  breakfast,  the  herdsman  walks  the 
boar  down  to  the  breeding  house  and  lets  him  lie  there 
until  after  breakfast.  Then  he  uses  him,  and  immediate- 
ly puts  the  sow  in  a  dark,  quiet  place  until  she  is  out  of 
heat.  He  lets  the  boar  lie  for  half  an  hour  and  then 
walks  him  back  home.  We  give  him  his  breakfast  after- 
ward.    By  having  lots  of  exercise  and  not  too  many 


THE  BOAR  ;  SELECTION  AND  ^MANAGEMENT  lOI 

services  the  boar  is  always  on  edge.     We  very  seldom 
have  to  breed  him  to  the  same  sow  a  second  time." 

AGE   FOR  RETIREMENT 

As  long-  as  the  boar  shows  vigor  and  his  get  are  satis- 
factory he  may  be  profitably  kept  in  the  herd.  When 
that  time  has  passed  he  should  be  castrated,  pastured 
through  the  sitmmer  and  fattened  in  the  fall.  Such  an 
animal  is  known  to  the  trade  as  a  "stag,"  and  usually 
sells  at  a  price  much  lower  than  a  barrow  of  the  same 
weight  and  apparent  quality.  If  castrated  early  in  the 
season  and  kept  on  grass  during  the  summer  the  fiesh, 
when  he  is  made  fat,  will  be  far  less  rank  than  it  would 
be  otherwise.  Kept  with  other  hogs,  if  quarrelsome, 
there  is  danger  that  a  stag  may  do  them  injury  with  his 
tusks,  if  he  has  them,  hence  it  is  desirable  to  fatten  such 
a  hog  by  himself.  It  is  at  this  period  that  the  old  boar's 
true  proportions  will  show  themselves,  as  he  will  take  on 
fat  very  rapidly  and  generally  present  a  greatly  improved 
appearance.  When  slaughtered,  the  strong  taste  that 
might  otherwise  appear  in  his  meat  may  be  avoided,  it  is 
said,  by  removing  the  sheath  at  once  after  killing  and 
without  waiting  for  dressing.  In  case  the  animal  slaugli- 
tered  is  a  boar  the  testicles  should  also  be  immediately 
removed. 

REMOA^ING  THE   TUSKS 

A  reader  of  the  Homestead  gives  a  practical  method 
of  removing  tusks  from  a  boar,  reported  in  that  paper  as 
follows  :  "He  prefers  tying  up  by  the  upper  jaw  and  put- 
ting a  slipknot  back  of  the  upper  tusks.  The  hog  will  pull 


I02  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

back  and  keep  the  rope  tight ;  one  man  stands  astride  the 
hog  and  puts  a  hardwood  stick  about  one  and  one-fourth 
inclies  thick  in  the  boar's  mouth ;  takes  hold  of  both  ends, 
pulls  it  back  as  far  as  he  can  and  holds  it  there.  Another 
man  should  then  put  some  straw  on  the  ground,  get  down 
on  his  knees,  and,  with  a  three-cornered  file,  file  a  good 
notch  in  each  corner  of  the  tusk ;  then  put  the  point  of 
an  iron  wedge  in  one  of  the  notches  and  tap  it  with  a 
hammer,  when  the  tusk  will  break  squarely  off.  He 
would  then,  with  a  flat  file,  smooth  the'stump  down  to  the 
jaw.  He  thinks  if  this  procedure  is  followed  the  hog 
will  give  thanks  and  say,  'You  have  done  a  good  job  and 
it  did  not  hurt  much.'  " 

THE  SIRE  MOKE  THAN  HALF  THE  HERD 

In  his  valuable  work.  "Principles  of  Breeding,"  Prof. 
Eugene  Davenport  says :  "It  has  become  a  proverb  that 
the  sire  is  half  the  herd.  He  is  far  more  than  that.  He 
is  half  of  the  first  generation,  three-fourths  of  the  next, 
seven-eighths  of  the  third,  and  so  on,  until,  if  judicious 
selection  be  maintained  for  a  few  generations,  the  char- 
acter of  the  herd  will  be  fixed  by  the  sire  alone.  This 
being  true,  the  folly  of  maintaining  a  sire  with  but  two 
or  three  high-class  females  is  evident ;  he  should  have 
larger  opportunity.  All  this  means  that,  as  a  beginning, 
numbers  are  of  more  consequence  relatively  than  quality 
on  the  side  of  the  dam,  and  that  if  the  breeder  must 
choose  between  the  two  it  is  better  to  put  a  given  amount 
of  money  into  a  good  number  of  plain  females  than  into 
a  smaller  number  of  high  quality,  but  that  in  all  cases  the 


THE  BOAR  :  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  IO3 

sire  should  have  quahty  and  plenty  of  it,  because  of  the 
principle  here  stated. 

"In  many  lines  of  breeding,  size  in  the  sire  is  consid- 
ered by  many  breeders  as  of  first  importance.  This  is 
against  reason  and  biological  principles.  We  need  in 
the  sire  all  the  desirable  characteristics  possible,  and  these 
are  most  readily  found  in  animals  of  medium,  not  ex- 
treme, size.  It  is  comparatively  easy  to  get  size  alone, 
and  this  can  be  gotten  on  the  side  of  the  dam.  The 
swine  herd  must  depend  for  uniformity  largely  upon  the 
sire,  and  he  should  be  freed  as  much  as  possible  from  the 
requirement  of  size. 

'Tn  the  matter  of  prepotency,  neither  parent  has  any 
particular  advantage  over  the  other.  But  this  refers  to 
a  single  offspring,  and  is  only  a  part  of  the  question. 
The  real  dift'erence  is  one  of  numbers.  The  sire  may 
produce  perhaps  a  hundred  in  a  season,  while  the  dam  is 
limited  to  one  individual  or  at  most  (among  hogs)  to 
two  litters.  For  purely  mathematical  reasons,  therefore, 
tlie  female  is  of  vastly  less  consequence  in  herd  or  breed 
improvement;  indeed,  wherever  polygamous  mating  oc- 
curs. It  is  here  a  question  of  numbers  and  opportunity. 
As  regards  these,  the  upper  limit  of  the  male  is  very  high 
and  of  the  female  very  low,  which  fact  teaches  the  neces- 
sity of  extreme  care  in  the  selection  of  the  sire,  not  so 
much  for  biological  as  for  numerical  reasons.  The  single 
female  is,  therefore,  comparatively  insignificant.  Unless 
she  be  one  of  the  few  phenomenal  breeders  her  individual 
power  for  good  is  exceedingly  low,  and  the  readiness  of 


I04  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

many  buyers  to  pay  extreme  prices  for  females,  especially 
cf  cattle,  is  wholle  unaccountable. 

"It  is  never  too  early  to  seek  a  new  head  to  an  estab- 
lished herd.  Proved  sires  are  seldom  for  sale,  and  the 
only  recourse  for  the  breeder  is  to  prove  his  own;  indeed, 
what  he  needs  is  a  sire  that  will  produce  well  with  his 
females. 

"It  takes  much  time  and  often  many  trials  to  find  a 
worthy  successor  to  the  head  of  the  herd.  Putting  it  off 
too  long,  and  a  feeling  of  fancied  security,  are  the  two 
causes  of  leaving  a  herd  without  a  head,  and  of  the 
enforced  evil  practice  of  using  an  untried  sire." 

A  useful  fact  to  remember  is,  that  regardless  of  his 
having  or  lacking  a  fancy  head  and  ear,  the  really  valua- 
ble parts  of  a  hog  are  behind  his  ears.  Another  is  that  it 
requires  unusual  skill  to  take  a  pampered  boar  from  the 
fairs,  loaded  with  fat,  and  reduce  him  to  a  condition  in 
which  he  will  be  most  valuable  for  service.  A  young 
boar,  thrifty  and  M^ell  conditioned,  fresh  from  pasture,  is 
the  one,  other  things  being  equal,  from  which  most  satis- 
factory results  can  be  expected. 

SUMMARY 

By  way  of  summary  of  the  points  enumerated  in  this 
chapter,  it  may  be  said  that  the  best  results  will  be  ob- 
tained from  a  pure-bred  boar  that  shows  desirable  char- 
acteristics, is  masculine,  is  somewhat  more  compact  than 
the  females  he  is  to  be  used  upon,  and  strong  in  points  in 
which  they  are  deficient.  He  should  be  the  best  the  buyer 
can  purchase,  and  it  is  unwise  to  let  a  matter  of  a  few 


THE  BOAR  :   SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  IO5 

dollars  govern  in  making  a  selection.  He  should  be  cared 
for  apart  from  the  other  hogs,  and  be  given  plenty  of  ex- 
ercise and  nutritious  rather  than  fattening  foods.  He 
should  be  naturally,  and  because  of  proper  handling,  an 
animal  of  quiet  disposition  and  an  easy  breeder.  Pre- 
ferably his  service  should  not  begin  in  ordinary  cases  long 
Ijefore  he  is  a  year  old,  and  they  should  be  continued 
while  he  proves  himself  worthy.  A  matured  boar  should 
be  able  to  serve  60  sows  in  a  season,  but  where  there  are 
two  or  more  services  necessary  in  a  day  it  is  well  to  allow 
every  second  or  third  day  for  rest;  more  than  two  serv- 
ices a  day,  one  in  the  morning  and  one  in  the  afternoon, 
are  not  usually  profitable.  In  general,  the  boar's  condi- 
tion should  be  thrifty,  neither  too  fat  nor  by  any  means 
run  down;  and  tin's  applies  as  much  out  of  tlie  breeding 
season  as  durini>'  that  lime. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Sow:  Selection  and  Management 

The  breeder's  judgment  may  possibly  yield  him  great- 
est profit  through  his  judicious  selection  of  a  boar,  but 
skill  in  handling  and  management  may  be  demon- 
strated to  a  greater  extent  with  the  brood  sow.  His 
intelligence — not  to  say  genius — is  tested  not  merely  in 
selection  and  mating,  but  e\-en  more  in  feeding  and  care 
during  pregnancy  and  at  and  after  farrowing.  In  all 
this  the  sow  is  not  alone  the  object  of  concern;  the  life 
and  development  of  the  pigs,  and  the  returns  in  conse- 
quence, good  or  bad,  are  largely  dependent  on  the  breed- 
er's skill  in  selecting  the  sow  and  in  her  proper  treat- 
ment throughout  her  career,  and  especially  from  mating 
to  the  time  of  weaning  her  pigs. 

In  managing  the  brood  sow  a  breeder  is  dealing  with 
nature,  and  so  far  as  he  possesses  knowledge  and  ability 
his  methods  should  be  in  compliance  with  nature's  laws. 
It  does  not  follow  that  his  work  must  be  crude  or  conflict 
with  science,  for,  on  the  contrar_y,  it  is  his  business  to 
apply  the  laws  of  nature  under  the  most  favorable  condi- 
tions he  is  able  to  command.  Neither  is  it  necessarily  to 
be  inferred  that  elaborate  shelter  or  other  expensive 
equipment  and  thousand-dollar  stock  are  essential.  A 
breeder  may  begin  his  enterprise  in  a  very  modest  way. 
and  yet  by  good  management  achieve  a  foremost  place 

100 


among  his  contemporaries.     In  fact,  most  of  the  top 
notch  swine  breeders  began  in  a  small  way. 

RETAIN    THE    WORTHY    SOW 

A  foundation  herd  ordinarily  will  be  started  with 
young  sows,  and,  whether  they  possess  the  most  aristo- 
cratic blood  or  are  a  "poor  man's"  pigs,  those  which 
prove  worthy  should  be  retained  as  long  as  they  are  sat- 
isfactory producers.  Many  will  sell  a  young  sow  which 
has  produced  less  than  the  most  prohtal)le  litter  of  pigs  at 
her  first  farrowing  without  really  having  given  her  op- 
portunity to  show  her  capabilities;  they  will  repeat  this 
practice,  and  cheat  themselves  in  so  doing.  A  sow's  re- 
productix'e  ability  should  increase  each  year  to  her  ma- 
turity, and  at  that  period  she  may  have  not  only  large 
litters,  but  such  as  wnll  prove  superior  in  both  growth 
and  quality.  As  a  mother  a  sow  is  called  upon  to  fur- 
nish double  power — for  her  own  sustenance  and  for 
giving  a  family  of  pigs  a  start  in  life.  If  she  has  not 
reached  an  age  where  the  demands  of  her  own  structural 
growth  are  but  moderate  it  follows  that  bone-making  and 
muscle-building  foods  which  ought  to  go  into  pig  manu- 
facture must  be  diverted,  at  least  in  some  measure,  to 
the  sow.  The  constitution  and  size  of  her  pigs  will  be 
inferior,  in  consequence,  to  what  they  might  otherwise 
prove.  This  plan,  if  followed,  must  eventually  give  the 
owner  an  unsatisfactory  herd,  and  in  time  he  becomes 
convinced  that  the  breed  is  wrong,  and  endeavors  to  re- 
n-ain  lost  ground  by  changing  breeds,  or  by  cross-breed- 
ine.     Undesirable  traits  once  established  are  difficult  to 


loS  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

eradicate,  and  it  is  far  better  to  avoid  them  in  the  begin 
ning.  For  that  reason  it  is  sane  procedure  to  retain  the 
tried  and  true  sow  until  she  shows  herself  too  clumsy 
and  lubberly  to  make  a  good  mother,  or  for  some  other 
decided  reason  should  yield  her  place  to  a  better  animal. 

Progress  in  swine  improvement,  especially  in  the  corn 
belt  of  the  United  States,  has  made  it  easy  for  the  man 
of  small  means  to  buy  good  sows,  even  if  he  feels  that 
he  cannot  afford  pure-bred  stock.  Good  blood  is  far 
more  widely  distributed  than  formerly,  and  the  buyer 
can  much  more  readily  procure  a  high  class  of  founda- 
tion stock  than  was  the  case  some  decades  earlier.  Where 
possible  it  is  preferable  to  start  with  pure-breds,  but 
when  this  is  not  feasible  the  purchaser  should  be  alert 
to  secure  sows  of  such  high  quality  as  he  may,  guarding 
against  defects  in  their  offspring  by  the  use  of  none  but 
high  class  pure-bred  boars. 

SELECTION 

Even  though  it  may  iuA'olve  some  inconvenience,  it 
is  by  far  the  best  plan  to  make  a  personal  selection,  and 
to  do  this  at  the  farm  of  their  owner.  There  they  may 
be  seen  in  their  everyday  life  and  form;  opportunity 
is  afforded  to  study  their  family  characteristics  and 
details  of  their  feeding  and  management,  which  often 
may  be  wisely  continued  by  the  new  owner.  If  the  sows 
are  purchased  from  a  man  who  has  a  reputation  for  fair 
dealing-  and  for  maintaining  a  high  standard  of  excel- 
lence among  his  stock,  the  beginner  in  swine  husbandry 
should  be  able  to  gather  from  his  experience  much  that 


THE  SOW  :  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  IO9 

is  of  value.  The  chances  are  in  favor  of  finding  such  a 
man  not  far  from  home.  Buying  unseen  sows  or  other 
breech'ng  stock  by  mail  is,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  of 
(loiihtful  advisability. 

A   GOOD   BROOD   SOW 

A  sow  that  is  motlierly,  a  generous  milker,  with  a 
gentle,  quiet  disposition,  and  prolific  in  farrowing 
healthy,  quick-growing  pigs,  is  well  selected,  and  a  treas- 
ure which  should  not  be  discarded  until  her  usefulness 
has  been  outlived.  A  good  brood  sow  is  a  roomy  animal, 
preferably  with  a  long,  deep  body  and  well-developed  pel- 
vic region.  The  head  and  throat  should  be  smooth  and 
trim  and  the  forehead  broad.  The  shoulders  should  be 
broad  and  smooth,  and  the  heart  girth  large,  as  when 
this  is  lacking  the  vital  organs  will  probably  not  have  the 
strength  tliey  should  and  would  possess  with  more  room. 
Some  authorities  now  question  the  old  theory  that  tlie 
female  parent  influences  the  offspring's  heart,  lungs  and 
other  vital  organs,  while  the  sire  dominates  in  the  make- 
up of  the  frame  and  general  external  structure,  but  so 
far  nothing  conclusive  has  been  offered  to  disprove  this 
and  it  is  worthy  of  acceptance  until  a  better  is  given  a 
positively  proved  position.  The  sow's  legs  should  be 
fairly  short  and  straight,  noticeablv  strong  and  service- 
al)le,  yet  without  coarseness  of  bone. 

Such  desirable  qualifications  as  deep  sides,  ribs  well 
sprung  out  from  a  wide,  well-fleslied.  slightly  arched  back 
and  well-finished  rump  and  hams,  must  not  be  lost  sight 
of.     These  characteristics,   in   whole  or  in   part,   along 


no  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

with  the  milk-giving  qualities,  are  too  often  underesti- 
mated by  the  average  breeder,  who  frequently  pays  too 
great  attention  instead  to  beauty,  refinement  and  show 
appearance.  A  sow  known  to  be  a  good  suckler  is  of 
double  worth,  or  better,  as  compared  with  a  scant  milker. 
Breeders  have  frequently  noticed  that  a  sow  with  poor 
milking  qualities  is  liable  to  have  small  litters ;  on  the 
other  hand,  one  of  large  milking  capacity  is  likely  to 
have  not  only  more  pigs,  but  will  do  so  much  better  by 
them  that  they  develop  faster  and  more  profitably  than 
those  of  smaller  litters. 

Weak  or  sagging  backs  in  either  sows  or  boars  are  to 
be  shunned.  An  observant  writer  has  said :  "A  weak 
or  sagged-backed  hog  means  a  poorly  muscled  hog  (it  is 
muscle  that  we  want  in  a  hog),  and  it  often  means  a  hog 
that  has  long  pasterns,  and  is  down  on  its  legs — a  hog 
that  can't  handle  itself  and  that  soon  gets  helpless  and 
of  little  account.  There  are  in  general  two  types  of  the 
weak-backed  hog:  The  one  that  is  high  on  the  shoulder 
and  sags  just  back  of  it,  and  the  one  that  is  high  on 
the  hip  and  slopes  down  to  the  shoulder.  The  latter  type 
is  usually  associated  with  short,  steep  hams,  but  the 
former  is  the  more  objectionable  since  it  signifies  the 
small  heart  girth  and  diminished  chest  capacity.  Either 
is  bad  enough  and  results  from  the  same  cause,  namely, 
poor  muscles.  The  muscles  running  diagonally  across 
the  ribs  and  vertebrae  sustain  and  strengthen  the  back, 
and  where  they  are  weak  or  lacking  there  can  be  no 
strength. 


THE  SOW  :  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  I  I  I 

"The  type  of  back  to  be  sought  is  the  one  that  is  arched 
shghtly  in  the  middle,  with  a  sHght  and  gradual  slope 
toward  either  extremity.  Such  a  back  means  strength 
and  power  for  the  hog  and  money  for  the  grower. 

"There  is  nothing  more  'demoralizing'  to  a  herd  than 
to  get  some  of  these  sagged-back  animals  into  it,  and  the 
greatest  care  possible  should  be  exercised  to  keep  clear  of 
them.  No  matter  how  broad  a  boar  may  be  or  how  de- 
sirable in  other  respects,  he  should  be  strictly  avoided  if 
he  has  a  poor  back,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  brood 
sow." 

THE   FOUNDATION  HERD 

Sows  selected  for  a  foundation  herd  should  be  of  uni- 
form type:  not  uniform  simply  by  accident,  but  because 
uniformity  of  a  good  kind  is  a  characteristic  of  the  stock 
from  which  they  are  selected.  They  should  be  about 
the  same  age,  and  in  pig.  Purchase  of  sows  already  in 
pig  will  save  to  beginners  a  considerable  outlay  at  the 
start.  The  owner  should  know  the  breeding  qualities  of 
his  sows  before  selecting  a  boar,  and  the  most  direct 
method  of  obtaining  this  knowledge  is  by  previously 
having  litters  from  them. 

Selection  should  be  with  a  view  to  making  the  sows' 
feeding  and  care  as  uniform  as  possible,  and  to  avoid- 
ing litters  of  pigs  of  mixed  or  varying  types.  These 
results  may  best  be  secured  with  sows  alike  in  type,  and 
of  the  same  age,  which  should  be  in  the  neighborhood 
of  a  year  when  selected.  If  for  the  foundation  of  a 
herd  of  pure-breds  they  should  come  from  some  well- 
rated,    established    breeder.       Uniform    quality    should 


112  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

dominate  in  the  selection,  and  in  the  herd  from  which 
the  selection  is  made,  and  limited  resources  should 
never  influence  the  buyer  to  neglect  quality  in  favor  of 
numbers.  A  large  number  is  not  necessary.  Four  or 
Ave  sows  should  be  ample  for  starting  an  ordinary  herd; 
but  it  is  far  better  to  begin  with  three  good  ones,  or 
e\'en  one,  than  with  six  such  as  will  place  the  breeder 
on  a  low  level  in  his  business.  Quality  must  be  insisted 
upon  and  adhered  to  from  the  outset,  but  it  does  not 
mean  over-refinement.  A  sow  that  is  delicate  or  too 
finely  bred  will  transmit  delicate  constitutions  to  her 
offspring,  which,  too,  will  probably  be  few  in  numbers. 
Better  results  will  accrue  from  selecting  pure-bred 
sows  from  a  single  herd,  because  uniformity  in  type  and 
handling  methods  are  thereby  more  likely  to  be  attain- 
able. Hereditary  influences  and  breeding  standards  will 
prove  more  satisfactory  if  the  buyer  has  been  judicious 
in  selecting  from  a  herd  and  a  breeder  with  known  high 
standards.  The  grandsires  and  granddams  should  l)e 
looked  up,  as  well  as  the  sires  and  dams,  and  tlieir  con- 
formation and  breeding  performances  studied. 

BEGIN  WITH  A  SMALL  NUMBER 

Whether  lie  purchases  grades  or  pure-breds  the  novice 
will  make  the  best  beginning  with  no  more  than  four  or 
five  sows.  If  in  pig  they  will  soon  give  him  the  prac- 
tical experience  out  of  which  he  will  absorb  more 
knowledge  than  he  can  possibly  obtain  by  any  other 
means.  While  he  ought  to  invest  in  the  best  quality 
his  monev  will  buv,  he  should  not  so  strain  his  resources 


THE  SOW  :  SELECTIOX  AND  MANAGEMENT  I  I3 

that  in  case  unforeseen  misfortune  overtakes  him  he  will 
be  left  unable  to  gird  up  and  make  another  trial. 

Serenity,  undisturbed  by  fretful  restlessness,  should  be 
characteristic  in  a  good  sow.  Any  breeder  of  expe- 
rience will  know  just  what  is  meant  when  it  is  said  that 
a  sow  is  "motherly,"  but  the  exact  meaning  is  difficult 
to  set  down  in  words.  This  maternal  manifestation  has 
an  important  bearing  on  success  with  a  litter,  and  the 
dam's  promise  in  this  regard  should  have  weight  in  the 
purchase.  In  making  a  selection  the  teats  should  be 
examined  to  discover  that  there  are  a  dozen,  well  formed, 
not  too  small  or  obscure,  and  giving  indications  of  sup- 
plying abundant  milk. 

\Vhere  it  is  found  desirable  to  select  sows  from  dif- 
ferent herds  greater  care  is  essential  to  prevent  intro- 
duction of  disease  than  would  be  necessary  if  they  came 
from  a  single  farm  known  to  be  free  from  disease.  In 
the  former  case,  or  if  they  have  been  shipped  a  con- 
siderable distance,  it  is  advisable  to  keep  them  isolated 
from  each  other,  if  possible,  for  a  period  of  three  or 
four  weeks,  or  until  there  is  no  danger  of  the  introduc- 
tion of  disease  by  any  sow.  In  any  event  it  is  well  to 
ha\e  them  di])ped  or  sprayed  upon  their  arrival.  Prac- 
tical suggestions  regarding  quarantining  and  dipping 
may  be  found  in  a  succeeding  chapter  relating  to  that 
subject.  If  facilities  at  hand  do  not  permit  using  all 
necessary  precautions  the  buyer  will  find  it  safer  to  make 
his  selection  from  a  nearby  herd,  where  he  may  be 
certain  that  his  sows  are  purchased  free  from  both 
disease  and  vermin. 


114  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

So  far  as  may  be  feasible,  the  methoas  of  feeding  to 
which  the  sows  have  been  accustomed  should  be  fol- 
lowed after  their  arrival  at  the  buyer's  home.  Sudden 
changes  of  feeds  should  be  avoided,  and  for  a  few  days 
the  diet  should  be  light. 

In  selecting  gilts  from  the  home  herd  for  breeding 
consideration  should  be  given  to  the  fact  that  the  most 
promising  pigs  at  six  or  eight  weeks  may  fall  far  short 
of  being  so  promising  at  six  or  eight  months ;  therefore 
it  is  better  to  defer  selection  until  they  have  attained 
considerable  growth.  Then  they  will  exhibit  promi- 
nently and  in  a  permanent  way  the  possession  or  lack  of 
certain  characteristics  which  a  good  brood  sow  should 
have,  and  the  breeder  will  be  enabled  to  form  a  judg- 
ment more  nearly  correct  as  to  what  they  will  be  at 
maturity. 

PROPER  TIME   TO   BREED 

Well-kept  sows  will,  at  times,  come  in  heat  when 
not  more  than  three  months  old ;  Ijut  in  all  such  cases 
care  should  be  exercised  that  they  are  kept  out  of  reach 
of  any  boar  pigs.  Eight  months  old  is  as  young  as  it  is 
judicious  or  proper  to  breed  a  sow,  and  ten  months  or 
more  is  preferable.  If  nature  is  called  upon  to  perfect 
the  undeveloped  mother  and  to  promote  the  growth  of 
the  young  at  the  same  time  the  inevitable  result  is  that 
both  are  losers.  Tlie  mother  herself  will  never  be  able 
to  recover  from  an  undue  and  improper  division  and 
deficit  in  nature's  work.  This  warning  has  already  been 
given    in    this    chapter,    but    the    truth    is    of    enough 


THE  SOW  :  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  I  I  5 

importance  to  justify  repetition.  Pigs  from  large,  old 
sows  will  be  more  in  number  and  frequently  double  the 
size  at  a  month  old  of  those  from  the  young  sows,  and 
with  equal  care  they  will  usually  be  much  the  heavier 
when  nine  or  twelve  months  old. 

The  Wisconsin  station  has  made  interesting  tests  to 
prove  relative  sizes  and  weights  in  litters  from  young 
and  old  sows,  with  astonishing  results.  In  these  tests 
sows  weighing  an  average  of  482  pounds  at  farrowing 
time  produced  an  average  of  9.2  pigs  per  litter,  with  a 
weight  per  litter  of  2^  pounds.  From  sows  weighing 
307  pounds  tlie  average  numl)er  in  the  litter  was  6.7 
pigs,  and  the  weight  of  the  litter  was  16  pounds.  Where 
the  average  weight  per  sow  was  238  pounds  the  average 
number  in  a  litter  was  5.5  pigs  and  the  average  weight 
of  a  litter  14  pounds.  Sows  between  the  ages  of  four 
and  live  years  averaged  nine  pigs  to  a  litter  and  a  weight 
per  litter  of  26  pounds;  sows  between  two  and  three 
years  old  had  an  average  litter  of  7.5  pigs,  and  a  litter 
a\eraged  19.7  pounds  in  weight,  and  sows  a  year  old 
produced  litters  of  7.8  pigs,  witli  an  average  weight  of 
14.2  pounds  per  litter.  The  station  report  on  the  tests 
says :  "It  is  A-ery  evident  that  the  older  and  larger 
sows  are  much  better  motliers  than  the  younger  and 
smaller  ones,  and  that  the  common  practice  of  many 
farmers  in  disposing  of  their  old  brood  sows  each  year 
and  reser^•ing  young  and  immature  animals  for  breed- 
ing purposes  is  not  to  be  commended.  Our  farrowing 
records  for  several  years,  where  each  litter  was  weighed 
at  birth,  as  well  as  the  practices  of  leading  breeders,  bear 


H6  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

out  the  Statement  that  sows  from  three  to  five  and  even 
six  years  of  age  are  much  more  profitable  and  satisfac- 
tory as  breeders  than  sows  one  and  two  years  old." 

The  profitable  period  for  retaining  a  good  brood  sow 
in  the  herd  will  depend  almost  entirely  upon  the  sow 
herself.  She  deserves  her  place  as  long  as  she  can  hold 
it.  It  will  not  profit  the  breeder  to  allot  her  for  fattening 
so  long  as  she  evinces  a  motherly,  kindly  disposition  and 
show^s  ability  to  produce  and  suckle  generously  litters 
of  six  or  more  healthy  pigs.  Some  will  be  valuable 
after  five  years  of  maternity,  while  others  will  become 
clumsy  and  careless  or  vicious  before  that  time.  The 
experienced  breeder  holds  fast  to  his  best  and  tried  ani- 
mals, and  it  is  through  them  that  he  makes  and  maintains 
the  reputation  of  his  herd  and  himself. 

CONDITION  AT  BREEDING 

Usually,  when  not  with  pig  or  suckling,  a  sow  will  be 
in  heat  about  three  days  out  of  21,  or  once  in  three  weeks. 
When  she  is  to  be  bred  she  should  be  free  from  fever, 
and  her  system  cooled  and  cleansed  by  a  variety  of  non- 
heat-producing  foods  and  loosening  slops.  A  healthy 
sow  is  the  better  able  to  produce  a  healthy  litter.  From 
the  time  she  is  chosen  as  a  breeder  methods  of  feeding 
can  be  made  to  have  a  large  influence  in  attaining 
desired  results.  During  the  growing  period  and  in  preg- 
nancy her  needs  are  for  nitrogenous  or  protein-furnish- 
ing rations,  such  as  barley,  oats,  bran,  and  the  leguminous 
feeds — clover,  alfalfa,  beans  and  peas.  Field  roots, 
such  as  sugar-beets,  rutabagas,  mangels  and  artichokes, 


THE  sow  ;  SELECTIUN  AND  MANAGEMENT  I  1/ 

also  plenty  of  pumpkins,  are  valuable  adjuncts.  Fre- 
quently it  is  convenient  and  inexpensive  to  feed  raw 
potatoes,  and  they  have  a  value  in  affording"  succulence 
and  variety,  but  as  a  principal  diet  for  any  considerable 
length  of  time  they  are  not  at  all  to  be  recommended. 
The  especial  need  is  material  for  bone  and  muscle- form- 
ing. Fat  for  the  pigs  is  not  needed  until  a  later  time. 
Very  much  corn  is  not  desirable  feed  for  any  breeding 
animal.  Many  valuable  sows  have  been  destroyed  for 
breeding-  purposes  by  overfeeding  on  corn  or  corn  meal. 

In  the  corn  belt,  however,  most  farmers  find  their 
abundant  and  inexpensive  corn  a  feed  which  cannot  be 
avoided  or  ignored,  nor  should  it  be;  but  while  its  use 
need  not  by  any  means  be  omitted,  it  should  be  but 
moderate,  and  as  a  part  of  a  reasonably  balanced  ration. 
Sows  kept  for  breeding  should  not  herd  with  fattening 
hogs  kept  on  corn,  but  be  in  pasture  and  given  a  supply 
of  slop,  such  as  equal  parts  of  shorts,  corn  meal  and 
wheat  bran.  Feeds  which  furnish  considerable  bulk  are 
preferable,  and  those  tending  to  prevent  constipation 
are  important. 

At  the  time  of  service  the  sow  should  be  in  what  may 
best  be  described  as  "good"  condition,  not  too  fat  or 
in  exhibition  form,  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  too  thin.  She 
ought  to  be  hearty  in  every  way  and  a  greedy  feeder; 
she  is  then  entering  upon  the  most  important  work  of 
lier  career,  and  ought  to  be  "fit."  As  winter  approaches 
the  sows  should  have  shelter  adequate  for  any  protection 
that  the  climate  may  make  necessary.  Whether  this 
shelter   l3e   of   straw   and   poles   or   of   tight   roofing   it 


Il8  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

should  protect  against  a  damp  bed.  Dry  quarters  and 
bedding-  are  always  the  right  of  the  mother  sow,  and 
will  save  many  pigs. 

INFLUENCE  OF  DAM  ON  LITTER 

Probably  a  majority  do  not  realize  as  fully  as  they 
need  to  what  g-reat  influence  the  feed  of  the  dam  may 
exert  upon  the  offspring;  that  some  kinds  are  required 
to  make  bone  and  that  other  kinds  go  chiefly  to  the  mak- 
ing of  fat.  If  the  bone-forming  feeds  alone  are  given 
to  the  mother  there  will  be  a  normal  and  sometimes 
an  abnormal  development  of  frame,  but  the  offspring- 
will  be  in  poor  flesh  when  dropped.  If  only  fat-forming 
feeds  are  given,  the  offspring  will  be  fat  and  glossy, 
but  deficient  in  bone  structure.  If  the  breeder  feeds  his 
sows  on  corn  and  water,  they  will  probably  have  a  small 
number  of  pigs,  which  may  be  fleshy,  but  lacking  in  size, 
and  they  will  rarely  be  matured  at  any  great  profit.  If 
he  uses  liberally  feed  containing  protein  and  phosphorus, 
he  will  obtain  pigs  with  proper  frames  to  begin  with, 
and  that  will  yield  a  profit  when  ready  for  the 
market.  The  fact  that  a  pig  at  birth  is  large  and  lean 
and  seems  loosely  hinged  together  is  no  proof  that  it  will 
not  in  good  time  be  growthy  and  abundantly  plump. 

Bearing  on  this,  an  Iowa  farmer  of  several  years' 
experience  reports  a  test  he  made  of  mixed  feeds  com- 
pared with  corn  alone,  which  was  very  interesting  in  its 
outcome,  and  in  substance  was  as  follows :  For  three 
months  prior  to  farrowing  he  kept  all  the  sows  on  the 
5ame  rations.     One  pen  received  nothing  but  corn  and 


THE  SOW  :  SELECTION  AND  .MANAGEMENT 


119 


water,  another  received  a  ration  of  2  parts  corn,  i 
part  wiieat  bran  and  2  parts  chopped  clover  hay. 
These  parts  were  determined  by  measure  and  the  clover 
was  steeped  in  a  little  water  for  half  an  hour  before 
being  mixed  with  the  shelled  corn  and  bran.  At  far- 
rowing time  each  sow  which  had  been  fed  the  corn 
dropped  five  pigs,  three  of  which  were  fat  and  chubby 
and  the  other  two  runts.  The  other  sows  averaged  eight 
pigs  each  and  there  were  only  two  runts  in  a  herd  of  28^ 
The  26  were  as  nearly  perfect  specimens  of  their  breeds 
as  he  ever  saw,  and  were  sold  at  eight  months,  averag- 
ing 2y8  pounds  each.  The  price  for  which  they  were 
sold  represented  a  profit  of  nearly  47  per  cent  after 
counting  in  a  reasonable  amount  for  labor  and  a  good 
price  for  all  feed  given  them.  The  six  pigs  from  the 
corn- fed  sows  were  sold  at  the  same  age,  averaging  185 
pounds  each,  and  the  farmer  believes  he  lost  money  on 
them.  All  tiie  pigs  were  fed  and  reared  on  practically 
the  same  rations. 

BROOD   SOWS  AFTER  CATTLE 

Many  farmers  are  so  situated  that  they  find  it  most 
convenient  to  allow  their  brood  sows  to  run  in  corrals 
with  their  fattening  cattle,  although  this  has  numerous 
disadvantages.  The  cattle  are  likely  to  horn,  trample, 
or  otherwise  injure  the  sows.  When  allowed  with  the 
cattle  they  should  be  given  separate  quarters  at  night, 
outside  the  feed-lot,  and  not  restricted  to  the  food  they 
will  gather  up  after  the  cattle.  Before  turning  out  with 
the  cattle  in  the  morning  it  is  advisable  to  give  them  a 


I  JO  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

ration  of  muscle-making  and  more  laxative  food;  not 
too  much,  as  it  will  tend  to  make  them  lazier,  with  a 
greater  probability  of  their  getting  in  the  way  of  the 
cattle  and  also  of  neglecting  the  exercise  which  is  one 
of  the  benefits  from  allowing  sows  to  work  over  the 
droppings  of  cattle  fed  on  grain. 

Whether  or  not  a  sow  is  safely  in  pig  will  be  known 
usually  about  20  or  21  days  after  coupling.  A  careful 
record  should  be  kept  of  the  date  of  coupling,  so  that 
the  probable  time  of  farrowing  may  be  known.  The 
period  of  gestation  is  about  112  days  from  the  date  of 
service.  Young  sows  are  likely  to  carry  their  first  litters 
for  a  slightly  shorter  period,  not  infrequently  farrowing 
in  106  or  108  days,  while  old  sows  may  take  a  longer 
time,  extending  to  possibly  115  days.  Instances  are 
exceptional  when  any  variation  either  way  exceeds  a 
week  from  the  112th  day.  The  table  on  page  140. 
taking  the  left-hand  date  for  the  time  of  coupling,  will 
show  by  the  right-hand  date  in  the  same  column  the  time 
when  farrowing  is  likely  to  occur. 

TIME  FOR  FARROWING 

Throughout  most  of  the  corn  Ijelt  of  the  United  States 
the  main  crop  of  pigs  should  come  in  the  warm  days  of 
April,  and  that  this  may  be  so,  sows  should  be  brcl 
as  near  the  middle  of  December  as  possil)le.  Where  the 
breeder's  facilities  will  afford  the  requisite  care  and 
warmth  and  the  latitude  is  not  too  far  north  it  may  be 
safe  to  have  the  pigs  come  in  March.  As  a  general  rule 
in  the  northern  states  a  sow  should  not  have  pigs  in 


THE  SOW  :  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT? 


121 


the  spring-  before  late  March,  nor  later  in  the  fall  than 
October.  A  sow  that  has  been  wintered  properly,  and 
has  had  the  right  kind  of  feed,  with  plenty  of  exercise 
and  sunshine,  shoukl  do  well  with  a  Alarch  litter  and 
be  prepared  to  farrow  a  good  litter  again  in  the  autumn. 
\\'liether  or  not  this  is  advisable,  however,  will  depend, 
in  great  part,  on  how  well  the  owner  is  situated  and  how 
well  inclined  to  give  the  needed  care  to  the  sow  and  her 
pigs.  Both  early  spring  litters  and  those  of  the  early 
fall  will  do  the  best  and  pay  the  best  on  an  average. 
Care  of  the  pigs  in  the  mild  season  is  not  so  difficult, 

Table  Showing  Period  of  Gestation. 


f   r 

ft 

f| 

f  ,| 

tt 

3  13 

t  9 

fr 

I  I 

?5 

'2,  *n 

ff 

1.22 

1  .23 

1.20 

1  .21 

1.20 

1.20 

1..20 

1.20 

1.21 

1.20 

1.20 

l.,22 

2.. 23 

2.24 

2.21 

2.22 

2.21 

2.21 

2.21 

2. .21 

2.22 

2.21 

2. .21 

2.23 

3.. 24 

3..2S 

3.22 

3.23 

3. .22 

3.22 

3. .22 

3.  22 

3.23 

3.22 

3.22 

3  .24 

4.25 

4.26 

4.. 23 

4.. 24 

4. 23 

4. 23 

4. 23 

4. 23 

4.. 24 

4. .23 

4.. 23 

4.. 25 

S..26 

S..27 

S..24 

5. .25 

5.24 

S..24 

S..24 

S.  24 

5.  25 

5. .24 

5.. 24 

5.26 

6. 27 

6.28 

6. 25 

6. .26 

6.25 

6.25 

6.25 

6. 25 

6  .26 

6. 25 

6.. 25 

6. 27 

7  .28 

7.29 

7.26 

7.27 

7.26 

7. .26 

7.26 

7. .26 

7. .27 

7. .26 

7. 26 

7.28 

8.2s>- 

8.30 

8.27 

8.28 

8.27 

8.  27 

8.27 

8.. 27 

8  28 

8. .27 

8. 27 

8.29 

9  .30 

9. .31 

9. .28 

9. .29 

9. .28 

9. .28 

9. .28 

9. .28 

9. .29 

9.28 

9.28 

9.30 

May 

June 

10.29 

10. 30 

10.29 

10. 29 

10.29 

10.. 29 

10. 30 

10.  29 

Mar. 

10.31 

10.  1 

10.  1 

U  .30 

11.31 

11. .30 

11  30 

11. .30 

U.  30 

11. .31 

U.  30 

10   1 

Apr. 

11.  2 

11..  2 

July 

Aug. 

12.31 

Oct. 

12. .31 

Dec. 

Jan. 

12.31 

11..  2 

11..  1 

12..  3 

12..  3 

12..  1 

12..  1 

Sept 

12..  1 

Nov. 

12..  1 

12  .  1 

Feb. 

12..  3 

12..  2 

13..  4 

13..  4 

13..  2 

13..  2 

13.  1 

13..  2 

13..  1 

13.  2 

13..  2 

13..  1 

13..  4 

13..  3 

14.  S 

14..  S 

14..  3 

14..  3 

14..  2 

14..  3 

14..  2 

14..  3 

14..  3 

14..  2 

14..  5 

14..  4 

15..  6 

IS..  6 

IS..  4 

IS..  4 

IS..  3 

15..  4 

15..  3 

IS..  4 

IS..  4 

15..  3 

IS..  6 

15..  S 

16..  7 

16..  7 

16..  5 

16..  5 

16..  4 

16..  S 

16..  4 

16..  S 

16..  S 

16..  4 

16..  7 

16..  6 

17..  8- 

17..  8 

17..  6 

17..  6 

17..  S 

17..  6 

17..  S 

17..  6 

17..  6 

17..  5 

17..  8 

17..  7 

18..  9 

18..  9 

18..  7 

18..  7 

18..  6 

18..  7 

18..  6 

18..  7 

18..  7 

18..  6 

18..  9 

18..  8 

19. 10 

19.. 10 

19..  8 

19..  8 

19..  7 

19..  8 

19..  7 

19..  8 

19..  8 

19..  7 

19.. 10 

19..  9 

20.11 

20.. 11 

20..  9 

20..  9 

20..  8 

20..  9 

20..  8 

20..  9 

20..  9 

20..  8 

20. 11 

20.. 10 

21. .12 

21. .12 

21..10 

21..10 

21..  9 

21..10 

21..  9 

21. 10 

21.. 10 

21..  9 

21. .12 

21. .11 

22.. 13 

22..13 

22. .11 

22.11 

22. 10 

22. .11 

22. 10 

22. .11 

22. .11 

22. 10 

22..13 

22.. 12 

23. 14- 

23.. 14 

23.. 12 

23.. 12 

23.11 

23.12 

23..11 

23. 12 

23.. 12 

23. .11 

23.14 

23..  13 

24. IS 

24.. IS 

24.13 

24.13 

24.12 

24.13 

24.. 12 

24.. 13 

24.. 13 

24.. 12 

24.. 15 

24.. 14 

25. .16 

25.. 16 

25. 14 

25.14 

2S..13 

25.. 14 

25. 13 

25.. 14 

25. .14 

25.. 13 

25.. 16 

25. .15 

26.. 17 

26.. 17 

26.15 

26..1S 

26. 14 

26. .15 

26. 14 

26  15 

26. 15 

26.. 14 

26.17 

26.. 16 

27. .18 

27.. 18 

27.. 16 

27.. 16 

27. .15 

27.. 16 

27. .15 

27. 16 

27. 16 

27.15 

27.. 18 

27. .17 

28. 19 

28. 19 

28.17 

28.17 

28  .16 

28.16 

28. 17 

28.. 17 

28.16 

28. .19 

28.  IS 

29. .20 

29. .20 

29.. 18 

29.. IS 

29.. 17 

29::i8 

29.. 17 

29. 18 

29.. 18 

29. .17 

29. .20 

29. .19 

30.21 

30.19 

30.. 19 

30.. 18 

30.19 

30.. 18 

30. 19 

30.. 19 

30. 18 

30.21 

30.20 

31. .22 



31. .20 



31. .19 

31. .19 

31. .20 



31.. 19 



31. .21 

122  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

and  they  are  then  pntting-  on  their  most  inexpensive 
growth  at  a  time  and  age,  too,  when  they  are  least 
subject  to  aihiients  and  accidents.  The  chances  for 
profitably  rearing  two  crops  of  pigs  from  a  sow  annually 
are  undoubtedly  far  better  in  regions  of  mild  climate  and 
short  winters  than  where  the  winters  are  long  and 
rigorous. 

CARE  IN  WINTER 

In  the  winter  when  pasture  is  not  available  the  brood 
sows  will  call  for  greatest  attention,  and  substitutes  for 
green  feed  will  be  important.  Roots,  cabbage,  silage, 
])umpkins,  sorghum,  and  clover  or  alfalfa  hay  come 
within  this  classification.  Roots  offer  considerable  suc- 
culence, so  much  so  that  their  laxative  effect  must  not 
be  allov^^ed  to  bring  about  undue  action  of  the  bowels. 
Roots  may  be  given  without  cutting,  or  they  may  be 
chopped  and  mixed  with  the  grain  ration.  In  the 
vicinity  of  a  beet-sugar  factory  beet  pulp  may  usually 
be  obtained  at  a  small  cost.  Bulk  may  also  be  sup- 
plied with  clover  or  alfalfa  hay,  sheaf  oats,  sorghum 
cane  or  similar  ration.  A  correspondent  of  the  Prairie 
farmer  reports  the  profitable  use  of  steamed  hay,  cut 
to  one-half  or  three- fourths  of  an  inch  long  and  mixed 
with  ground  feed.  He  gives  the  following:  "Take 
early  cut,  carefully  cured  hay — any  kind  will  do,  but  al- 
falfa or  clover  is  best — cut  it  up  one-half  or  three-fourths 
of  an  inch  in  length,  put  it  in  a  barrel,  box,  or  something 
you  can  cover  up,  mix  with  it  any  kind  of  ground  feed 
— bran,    middlings,    ground    oats,    or    rye.     Vary    the 


THE  SOW  :  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  1 23 

'juantity  of  grain  as  yoii  see  is  needful  to  keep  the  stock 
thriving.  Steam  the  whole,  if  you  have  the  apparatus, 
until  it  is  soft;  but  if  you  have  no  steaming  fixtures  and 
are  on  good  terms  with  your  wife,  as  you  ought  to  l)e, 
she  will  let  you  boil  water  on  the  kitchen  stove.  Pour 
enough  boiling  water  on  the  cut  hay  and  grain  to 
thoroughly  wet  it.  Cover  and  let  it  stand  from  morn- 
ing to  night,  and  it  will  be  ready  for  use.  I  would  have 
the  sows  get  a  large  part  of  their  nutriment  out  of  the 
hay,  just  as  I  would  out  of  grass  if  they  were  on  pasture 
in  the  summer." 

Plenty  of  exercise  is  important  for  the  pregnant  sow; 
it  should  l)e  insisted  upon,  and  provided  in  the  way  the 
l)reeder  finds  Ijest  adapted  to  his  situation.  A  large 
jjasture  is  not  always  available,  but  the  Ijreeder  may 
secure  results  by  arranging  the  house  at  one  end  of  the 
hog  lot  and  the  feeding  floor  at  the  other  end,  or  by 
giving  the  sows  water  in  such  a  way  that  to  procure  it 
ihey  will  be  compelled  to  walk  some  distance  a  number 
of  times  each  day. 

THE  SOWS   HOI  STXG 

The  results  wliicli  may  be  achieved  through  the  brood 
sows  certainly  entitle  them  to  as  good  sleeping  quarters 
as  are  given  the  horses  or  cows.  These  quarters  should 
be  warm,  comfortable,  ventilated,  protected  from  damp- 
ness, and  so  arranged  that  they  may  have  plenty  of  sun- 
light, the  best  of  disinfectants.  It  need  not  be  expensive 
to  furnish  these.  A  floor  other  than  earth  is  not  a 
necessity  where  the  earth  can  be  kept  dry  and  hard  and 


124  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

without  the  formation  of  a  dust  bed  or  trough.  If  the 
floor  and  bedding  are  dank  and  the  place  gloomy  the 
pigs  will  suffer.  Cold  drafts  from  above,  below  or 
round  about,  and  dampness,  bring  with  them  various 
and  fatal  afflictions  which  should  be  guarded  against. 
The  bedding  should  be  changed  at  least  once  a  week, 
and  oftener  when  damp  or  soiled.  For  the  farrowing 
pen  cement  and  stone  floors  have  their  advocates,  and 
such  floors  have  the  advantage  of  greater  permanency, 
but  earth  or  wood  can  be  made  satisfactory. 

As  a  rule  the  brood  sow  should  be  separated  from 
other  hogs  two  weeks  or  ten  days  before  the  time  of 
farrowing,  and  placed  in  a  sheltered,  sunny  pen  or  other 
separate  inclosure.  She  will  then  need  less  exercise,  but 
should  have  the  best  possible  attention  as  to  feeding.  A 
slightly  less  amount  of  feed  will  be  needed,  especially 
for  a  few  days  before  farrowing,  when  the  breeder's 
effort  should  be  to  aid  the  sow  in  maintaining  the  best 
possible  condition  of  health,  and  in  accomplishing  this 
he  should  be  careful  not  to  go  too  far  either  one  way 
or  the  other.  It  is  not  difficult  to  see  how  he  might 
become  too  careless  or  negligent,  but  at  the  same  time 
it  should  be  remembered  that  he  may  show  himself  so 
over-solicitous  and  interfere  so  much  as  to  do  harm. 
The  state  of  the  weather  and  the  time  of  the  year  will 
have  considerable  to  do  with  the  need  for  his  services 
at  farrowing,  and  the  temperament  of  the  sow  should 
as  well  be  taken  into  consideration.  She  should  have 
become  accustomed  beforehand  to  regard  the  man  who 
comes  about  the  lot  or  pen  as  her  friend,  but  even  then 


THE  SOW  :  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  I  25 

some  sows  will  show  plainly  that  they  wish  to  he  left 
alone,  as  is  natural,  and  generally  is  best,  if  the  weather 
is  not  severe  and  the  presence  of  an  attendant  is  not 
necessary  to  take  care  that  by  neglect  the  pigs  do  not 
become  chilled  or  perish  of  cold. 

If  the  sow  is  of  the  ill-natured  kind  that  positively 
resents  the  presence  of  a  herdsman  she  should  be  bred 
so  she  can  deliver  her  pigs  in  weather  that  will  permit 
her  to  be  isolated  or  to  make  her  nest  in  the  orchard  or 
woods.  In  an  extreme  case  of  this  sort  such  an  animal 
should  be  early  slated  for  the  fattening  pen.  A  young 
sow  bringing  her  first  litter  will  probably  evince  more 
nervousness  than  an  older  animal.  If  she  has  been 
petted  or  kindly  treated  she  will  allow  an  attendant 
to  remove  the  pigs  from  the  nest  as  fast  as  they  appear, 
thereby  saving  some  that  might  otherwise  be  crushed 
or  trampled  to  death. 

Hie  sow's  bedding  should  not  be  great  in  quantity; 
enough  only  to  insure  a  clean  and  dry  nest.  In  moderate 
weather,  if  in  a  house  with  a  plank  flooring,  little  bed- 
ding will  be  needed,  but  in  cold  weather,  where  the  shelter 
does  not  thoroughly  protect,  more  will,  of  course,  be 
necessary.  Care  should  be  taken,  however,  to  make  the 
place  of  farrowing  so  comfortable  and  sheltered  that  a 
great  nest  will  not  be  necessary  to  prevent  the  pigs  from 
being  chilled.  If  the  nest  is  so  situated  that  the  sun  can 
warm  it  during  a  portion  of  the  day  it  is  very  comforting 
and  helpful.  Many  fine  pigs,  sometimes  whole  litters, 
have  been  lost  by  permitting  a  nest  too  deep,  forming  a 
sort  of  pit  in  which  the  pigs  gravitated,  to  be  smothered 


120  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

or  crushed.  Straw,  chaff,  hay,  shavings  and  leaves  are 
usable  for  nests.  Long  hay  or  straw,  such  as  rye  straw, 
for  example,  while  under  most  circumstances  better  than 
none,  are  far  from  being  the  best  bedding  for  a  farrow- 
ing sow  on  account  of  the  little  pigs'  liability  to  become 
entangled  or  lost  in  it.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  nobody  has 
yet  invented  or  knows  of  a  better  Ijedding  material  than 
the  leaves  and  grass  which  a  sow  will  collect  and  make  a 
nest  of  if  allowed  the  run  of  a  woods  pasture  at  farrow- 
ing time. 

Little  pigs  may  also  be  kept  from  danger  of  crushing 
by  the  mother  with  a  fender  made  of  a  scantling,  rail  or 
pole  securely  fastened,  say  eight  inches  from  the  wall, 
and  the  same  distance  from  the  floor.  The  pigs  will 
quickly  learn  the  protection  afforded  by  this  device  when 
the  sow  lies  down.  Some  breeders  advocate  a  farrow- 
ing pen  not  large  enough  for  the  sow  to  turn  around  in, 
and  with  walls  open  eight  inches  from  the  floor  so 
the  pigs  may  run  in  and  out.  A  pen  of  this  sort  may 
be  made  by  confining  the  sow  at  one  end  of  her  regular 
pen  with  boards  so  nailed  that  she  will  be  unable  to  turn 
around. 

BIRTH   OP  THE   PIGS 

Where  parturition  is  prolonged  or  difficult  the  herds- 
man's assistance  may  be  needed,  and  he  should  aim  to 
be  within  call.  A  distended  udder,  enlarged  vulva  and 
relaxation  of  muscles  on  each  side  of  the  tail  may  be 
taken  as  indications  of  the  nearness  of  parturition. 
When  the  udder  becomes  heated  and  milk  may  be  drawn 
from  the  teats  the  pigs  may  be  expected  within  12  hours, 


THE  SOW  :  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  I27 

except  in  the  case  of  a  sow's  first  litter.  For  several 
hours  before  farrowing  the  sow  will  be  restless  and  dis- 
play much  industry  in  g-athering  straw  or  other  material 
and  making  it  into  a  nest,  in  which  finally  she  will  as 
nearly  as  possible  bury  herself. 

In  warm  weather  the  pigs  will  of  their  own  accord 
usually  find  their  way  at  once  to  the  teats  and  begin 
nursing,  but  when  the  weather  is  extremely  cold  and  raw 
tlie  pigs  may  lose  their  way,  go  in  the  wrong  direction, 
become  entangled  and  benumbed,  fail  to  find  their  proper 
place  and  teats,  and  perish.  The  pig  tliat  is  safely  born, 
and  within  three  minutes  gets  a  firm  hold  of  a  teat  full 
of  milk,  as  was  intended,  has  his  chances  for  a  career 
of  usefulness  greatly  enhanced.  If  a  warmed  house  is 
not  used  it  will  be  well  to  have  a  basket  or  barrel,  in  the 
l)ottom  of  which  are  heated  bricks,  these  being  covered 
with  straw,  while  a  sack  or  blanket  is  tin-own  over  the 
top  to  prevent  loss  of  heat.  As  the  pigs  come  they  may 
be  wiped  dry  and  placed  in  the  basket  or  barrel  for  the 
time  being,  and  they  will  be  dry  and  warm  when  given 
tlie  teats.  If  the  weather  is  not  extremely  frosty  a 
blanket  thrown  over  the  sow  until  she  is  through  farrow- 
ing may  suffice. 

Of  all  the  means  of  successfully  warming  a  chilled  pig 
and  restoring  his  interest  in  things  earthly,  probably 
tliere  is  nothing  better  than  a  pail  or  other  vessel  of 
water  heated  to  about  95  to  98  degrees  F.,  in  which  his 
body  and  limbs  can  l:)e  submerged  for  10  to  20  minutes. 
In  many  instances  it  will  well-nigh  re\-ive  the  dead.  If 
after  this  hot  l)ath  Mr.  Pig  is  (h'ie(l  and  ])laced  where  he 


128  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

can  suck  a  well-filled  teat  his  outlook  on  the  future  will 
be  much  improved. 

"If  by  any  means  the  little  pigs  get  a  chill,  and  turn 
cold,  limp  and  damp,"  says  Sanders  Spencer,  an  English 
authority,  "a  teaspoonful  of  gin  will  help  to  revive  them, 
and  a  suck  at  the  teat  will  complete  the  cure  if  the 
weather  is  not  very  severe.  An  attendant  who  has  had 
much  experience  will  at  once  know  when  this  is  the 
case  by  the  peculiar  cry  which  a  chilled  pig  invariably 
gives  in  the  stage  before  it  becomes  quite  helpless  and 
semi-unconscious.  Should  the  act  of  parturition  be  a 
very  protracted  one,  it  is  advisable,  in  very  cold  weather 
especially,  to  place  those  pigs  which  are  dry  to  the  teat, 
lest  the  long-continued  deprivation  of  their  natural  food 
should  result  in  their  becoming  chilled  and  troublesome 
to  get  to  suck.  At  times  the  pigs  will  appear  to  have  but 
little  life  in  them  when  they  are  a  long  time  coming  into 
the  world;  the  attendant  should  then  open  the  pig's 
mouth  and  blow  lustily  down  its  throat,  so  that  the  lungs 
become  expanded,  when  the  3'-outhful  grunter  will  quickly 
recover." 

When  sows  are  nervous  and  unquiet  in  farrowing  it 
will  be  necessary  to  keep  the  pigs  away  from  the  teats 
until  farrowing  is  over,  unless,  as  stated,  the  weather  is 
severe  and  the  labor  unduly  prolonged.  Waiting  for  a 
little  time  will  not  cause  the  pigs  to  suffer,  provided 
they  are  dry  and  warm.  When"  given  the  teats  the 
breeder  should  see  that  each  pig  receives  its  fair  chance. 
If  a  stronger  pig  makes  a  choice  of  a  teat  at  which  one 
less  vigorous  is  obtaining  milk  the  latter  should  be  given 
an  unused  teat,  as  the  pigs  will  generally  continue  to  use 


THE  SOW  :  SliLECTlON  AND  MAiXAGEMENT  1J(J 

the  teats  they  at  first  select.  The  stronger  pigs  are  also 
gi\en  to  taking  extra  pulls  at  the  teats  belonging  to  their 
less  robust  mates  when  chance  offers.  It  is  sometimes 
difficult  to  manage  at  all  satisfactorily  the  pasturing  of 
several  sows  with  pigs  in  the  same  field,  on  account  of 
the  larger  pigs  robbing  the  smaller  ones  of  other  sows 
of  their  share  of  milk,  causing  them  to  become  stunted 
and  uneven  in  size.  When  too  much  of  this  is  found 
going  on  the  only  remedy  is  to  separate  them. 

ASSISTANCE  AT  FARROWING 

The  breeder's  judgment  will  generally  tell  him  what 
assistance  the  sow  may  require,  if  any,  in  farrowing. 
If  a  crosswise  presentation  occurs,  the  pig  should  be 
pressed  carefully  into  the  womb,  and  where  the  sow  has 
difficulty  in  bringing  the  pig  forward  it  may  be  necessary 
to  assist  her.  This  may  be  done  with  the  hands  or  by 
use  of  the  pig  forceps  sold  on.  the  market. 

"Have  your  pigs  come  about  the  same  time,"  says  John 
Cownie,  the  prominent  and  successful  Iowa  breeder, 
"within  a  week  or  two,  so  that  they  v^nll  all  be  of  one  age 
and  one  size.  That  is  one  great  secret  of  successful 
swine  raising.  It  will  save  a  great  deal  of  difficulty  at 
farrowing.  I  used  to  have  much  trouble  at  farrowing 
time  by  losing  sows.  One  year  I  lost  15  that  could  not 
give  birth  to  their  pigs.  .\t  that  time  I  didn't  know  what 
was  the  matter.  Now  I  know  all  about  it.  That  may  be 
saying  a  great  deal.  But  I  never  lose  a  sow  now  in  far- 
rcnving — not  one.  There  is  no  grain  more  fat-producing 
tiian  corn.     We  fed  our  young  hogs  altogether  too  much 


I30 


SWINE   IN   AMERICA 


corn.  Those  sows  died  because  they  had  been  fed  too 
much  corn,  and  their  pigs  were  too  large  and  fat,  and  the 
sows  could  not  give  birth  to  them.  I  had  fed  corn,  as 
my  neighbors  had  done;  now  I  feed  scarcely  an  ear  to 
my  brood  sows.  They  are  not  fed  a  great  deal,  and  there 
is  no  trouble  in  farrowing;  I  haven't  lost  a  sow  for  a 
dozen  years,  I  feed  so  as  to  make  bone  and  muscle.  I 
am  not  feeding  the  sow  then;  I  am  feeding  the  embryo 
pig,  and  what  I  want  in  that  pig  is  bone  and  muscle." 

SOWS  EATING  THEIR  PIGS 

A  disposition  by  the  sow  to  eat  her  pigs  may  be  the 
result  of  a  number  of  causes,  and  not  all  of  them  natu- 
rally the  fault  of  the  sow.  The  erroneous  opinion  some- 
times prevails  that  the  sow  is  the  only  farm  animal  which 
molests  her  young  at  time  of  parturition,  yet  mares  have 
been  known  to  kick  and  bite  their  foals,  cows  to  gore 
their  calves,  and  sheep  to  butt  their  lambs  to  death.  With 
the  sow  the  desire  to  eat  tlie  pigs  may  arise  from  the 
failure  to  promptly  remove  the  afterbirth.  When  this 
is  passed  it  should  be  immediately  removed  and  buried 
or  burned.  If  left  where  the  sow  can  scent  it  she  is 
more  than  likely,  especially  if  a  young  sow,  to  devour  it, 
and,  as  the  scent  of  the  newly  born  pigs  is  similar  some 
of  them  may  also  be  eaten.  If  the  sow  has  not  been 
properly  fed  during  pregnancy  or  has  lacked  exercise 
her  labor  will  be  more  difficult,  especially  if  she  is  con- 
stipated, and  in  her  distress  she  may  attack  her  young. 
If  she  has  lacked  growth-producing  and  bone-making 
feed  a  taste  for  blood  may  seem  to  possess  her,     A  sow 


THE  SOW  ;  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  I3I 

that  has  had  the  run  of  a  good  clover  field  or  other  pas- 
ture in  summer,  or  is  given  salt,  charcoal,  or  other  simi- 
lar condiments  in  winter,  where  a  nutritious,  succulent 
diet  is  not  available,  is  less  liable  to  evince  a  cannibalistic 
tendency.  It  is  said  that  the  wild  sow,  so  far  as  is 
known,  never  devours  her  young. 

When  rational  preventive  measures  have  not  been  used 
and  the  sow  begins  to  attack  her  pigs  the  following- 
treatment,  proposed  in  the  National  Stockman,  may  be 
given :  "Give  her  pork  enough  to  satisfy  her,  and  salt 
pork  is  better  than  fresh,  as  it  will  take  less.  The  salt  is 
laxative  and  will  cause  her  to  drink  more  water,  which 
will  tend  to  allay  the  fever.  Cut  thin  slices  of  pork  and 
begin  feeding  them  to  her  one  at  a  time  until  she  will 
eat  no  more,  and  she  w^ill  let  the  pigs  alone  afterward." 

FEEDING  AFTER  FARROWING 

If  a  sow  has  been  fed  so  that  she  will  have  enough 
milk  for  her  pigs  they  are  in  less  danger  of  being  injured 
or  killed,  as  they  will  satisfy  themselves  and  lie  down 
quietly  together  to  sleep,  while  the  pigs  of  a  sow  scant 
of  milk  will  be  hungry  and  constantly  working  at  her. 
and  by  their  restlessness  subjecting  themselves  to  danger 
in  various  ways.  A  sow  properly  fed  at  time  of  pigging 
will  likewise  usually  lie  far  more  quietly  and  will  en- 
danger her  pigs  less  by  frequent  getting  up  and  down. 
This,  again,  does  not  mean  hearty  feeding.  Usually 
for  the  first  24  hours  after  farrowing  no  feed  should  be 
given,  nor.  as  a  rule,  is  it  wanted,  but  the  sow  should 
be  provided  wM'th  lukewarm    (never  very  cold)    water. 


132 


SWINE    IN    AMERICA 


Her  feverish  condition  will  cause  thirst,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  she  may  ha\e  an  abundance  of  sloppy  food, 
which  will  not  prevent  her  needing  water.  In  case  the 
sow  shows  signs  of  wanting  to  eat  in  the  first  24  hours 
after  farrowing  she  may  be  given  a  little  thin  slop  or 
gruel  of  shorts  and  bran  or  of  oatmeal,  warmed,  if  in 
cold  weather.  The  feed  for  the  following  four  or  five 
days  should  be  light,  mainly  a  thin  slop — oats,  shorts, 
bran,  but  no  corn.  Some  clover  or  alfalfa  hay  at  this 
time  may  be  relished.  The  sow  should  be  gradually 
brought  to  full  feed,  taking  a  week  to  ten  days  to  ac- 
complish this.  The  third  day  after  farrowing  is  fre- 
quently a  critical  period,  and  until  that  time  is  past  her 
appetite  should  be  watched  carefully,  and  she  should  be 
supplied  with  but  a  light  ration.  The  water  supply  in 
reach  should  not  be  stinted. 

For  the  first  weeks  of  a  pig's  life  the  mother's  milk 
is  its  drink  as  well  as  food,  and,  therefore,  in  caring  for 
suckling  sows  it  should  be  the  aim  to  so  feed  them  that 
milk  of  only  medium  richness  will  be  furnished  instead 
of  a  limited  supply  of  that  which  is  extremely  rich,  the 
latter  being  less  healthful  and  more  liable  to  cause 
thumps,  scours  and  unsatisfactory  growth.  It  is  only 
a  law  of  nature  that  pigs  should  make  more  economical 
gains  through  the  milk  of  the  dams  than  in  any  other 
way,  and  it  is  also  true  that  the  sow  will  furnish  nourish- 
ment for  her  young  at  less  cost  for  the  raw  material  than 
any  other  animal  on  the  farm.  A  sow's  milk  is  rich  in 
solid  matter,  which  amounts  to  17  to  20  per  cent.  On  a 
comparative  basis  of   1,000  pounds   lixc  weight  a  cow 


THE  SOW  :  StLECTIOX  AND  MANAGEMENT 


133 


giving  3  gallons  of  milk  a  day  will  give  in  the  milk  i 
[)()und  of  fat  and  .yy  pound  of  protein  daily,  while  a 
sow's  milk  will  yield  1.26  pounds  of  fat  and  i.i  pounds 
of  protein  a  day  on  an  average.  In  composition  sow's 
milk  in  comparison  with  cow's  milk  is  very  high  in  total 
fats  as  well  as  solids.  Analyses  made  by  Professor 
F.  W.  \\o\\  at  the  ^\'isconsin  experiment  station  give  the 
following  comparison  between  sow's  milk  and  cow's 
milk : 


Total 
solids 

Fat 

Casein 

and 

albumen 

Milk 
sugar 

Ash 

r 

Specific   • 
gravity 

Sow's  milk 

Cow's  milk 

19.49 
13.47 

6.89 
4.14 

6.06 
3.20 

S.64 
S.43 

.98 
.70 

1.0412 
1.0316 

Difference 

2.75 

2.86 

.21 

.28 

.0096 

I'rom  observations  by  Professor  Henry  as  to  the  yield 
and  composition  of  sow's  milk,  it  seems  that  in  propor- 
tion to  their  weight  sows  yield  as  large  a  quantity  of  milk 
solids  daily  as  a  good  cow.  The  average  daily  produc- 
tion of  milk  solids  per  sow  appeared  to  be  about  i  pound, 
or  4  pounds  for  four  sows,  tlie  equivalent  of  the  solids 
in  over  30  pounds  of  cow's  milk  of  average  quality.  It 
follows,  therefore,  that  the  demands  upon  the  food  for 
milk  formation  are  proportionately  as  heavy  with  swine 
as  with  cows,  and  consequently  the  ration  should  be  one 
that  will  stimulate  and  sustain  abundant  milk  secretion. 
Such  feeding  is  not  only  necessary,  but  economical, 
"for,"  says  W.  H.  Jordan,  in  "Feeding  of  Farm  Ani- 
mals," "independent  experiments  indicate  that  the  food 


134  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

cost  of  the  gTowth  of  pigs  before  weaning  is  no  greater 
than  it  is  after  weaning." 

Tlie  practical  farm  fact  to  be  gained  from  the  chem- 
ist's showing  is  that  the  sow  needs  food  which  will  aid 
her  in  manufacturing  nourishment  for  the  pigs,  m?de  up 
in  about  the  foregoing  proportion  and  furnishing  suf- 
iicient  protein  and  enough,  but  not  too  much,  fat.  The 
nutritive  ratio — that  is.  the  ratio  of  digestible  protein  to 
digestible  carbohydrates — should  be  preferably  i  :5  or 
1 :6.  In  corn  it  is  i  :<).J  \  in  barley,  i  17.9;  in  oats,  i  :6.2; 
in  clover  and  alfalfa  it  is  practically  the  desired  ratio. 

For  making  an  ample  supply  of  healthful  milk,  wheat 
bran,  shorts  and  skim  milk  mixed  are  excellent,  and  no 
careful  breeder  anxious  to  do  the  best  by  his  pigs  should 
neglect  to  have  in  so  far  as  he  may  a  supply  to  use 
when  his  sows  are  suckling.  Extremely  favorable  re- 
sults are  secured  by  feeding  chopped  (coarsely  ground) 
rye,  with  half  its  weight  in  wheat  bran  added,  soaked 
from  24  to  36  hours,  but  not  allowed  to  become  more 
than  slightly  sour  before  feeding.  This  makes  a  most 
palatable,  nutritious  mess  for  the  sow,  and  her  pigs  soon 
learn  to  eat  greedily  of  it,  to  their  great  advantage. 

INJURIES  TO  THE  SOW'S  UDDER 

When  the  sow  carries  her  pigs  longer  than  the  usual 
period,  or  otherwise,  their  teeth  sometimes  attain  an 
unusual  development,  and  on  account  of  their  length  and 
sliarpness  injure  the  sow's  tender  and  swollen  udder. 
In  consequence  the  sow's  suffering  may  cause  her  to 
withhold  her  milk,  and  she  may  be  so  disturbed  as  to  in- 
jure her  pigs.     In  cases  of  this  kind  the  pig  should  be 


THE  sow   :  SELECTIU.X   AND   M A.X AciEMENT  I35 

taken  under  the  arm  and  tlie  mouth  held  open  with  one 
hand  wliile  tlie  faulty  teeth  are  broken  oti'  with  small 
pineer.s.  If  the  pig's  objeetions  disturb  the  ?ow  it  will 
be  better  to  do  the  work  out  of  her  hearing.  When  this 
treatment  is  needed  it  should  be  promptly  applied,  as  it 
may  save  the  lives  of  the  pigs  and  prevent  inflammation 
of  the  sow's  udder.  If  the  sow  is  ugly  toward  her  pigs 
the  chances  are.  unless  she  is  constipated,  that  her  bad 
temper  is  caused  by  the  sharp  teeth  of  the  pigs.  In  case, 
tlie  udder  becomes  swollen  and  hard,  water  as  hot  as  may 
be  borne,  in  which  a  little  salt  has  been  dissolved,  may  be 
applied,  and  is  excellent.  Apply  this  until  the  udder  is 
softened,  and  then  rul)  with  warmed  lard  and  turpen- 
tine in  equal  parts.  This  treatment  is  also  good  for  an 
enlarged  teat. 

11ie  condition  of  ilie  wcatlier  will  g()vern  tlic  length 
of  time  it  will  be  necessary  to  keep  the  sow  in  close 
quarters,  but  she  should  not  be  denied  access  to  the  open 
air.  Pigs  should  not  be  allowed  out  in  a  cold  rain  or 
where  they  will  receive  tlie  shock  of  cold  winds.  Where 
they  can  do  so  without  danger  they  should  be  out  in  the 
sun  within  24  hours  after  birth,  and  after  that  the  best 
])ractice  is  to  let  them  run  in  and  out  at  will.  Neither 
the  sow  nor  ^•ery  young  pigs  should  be  permitted  to  run 
in  pasture  early  in  the  morning  if  the  grass  is  tall  and 
wet  with  rain  or  heavy  dew. 

CHOLERA  AND   BROOD   SOWS 

Cholera  will  leave  sf)me  brood  sows  that  recover  from 
its  attack  so  that  they  are  thereafter  apparently  immune 


136  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

and  as  valuable  for  breeding  as  before.  Others  will  re- 
cover from  the  disease,  but  never  again  be  good  breed- 
ers. This  immunity  after  an  attack  of  cholera  is  not 
transmitted  to  their  progeny.  James  Riley,  the  veteran 
Indiana  breeder,  said,  after  a  quarter-century  of  expe- 
rience with  cholera :  "I  regard  a  sow  that  has  had  the 
disease  and  fully  recovered,  if  it  has  left  her  a  breeder, 
as  very  valuable.  I  think  sows  should  not  be  bred  for 
at  least  two  months  after  fully  recovering.  At  least  75 
per  cent  of  our  sows  that  had  the  disease  proved  to  be 
breeders.  It  affected  mature  sows  less  than  younger 
ones.  Those  that  have  great  constitutional  vigor  are 
able  to  resist  the  disease.  Sows  that  have  resisted  and 
recovered  will  frequently  breed  stronger  and  more  vig- 
orous pigs." 

IMPORTANCE   OF  EXERCISE 


snow  covers  the  ground  is  something  of  a  problem,  but 
inasmuch  as  she  will  be  less  inclined  to  take  exercise  at 
that  time  efforts  should  be  the  greater  to  see  that  she  has 
enough  to  keep  her  in  good  condition.  Left  to  herself 
the  sow  may  do  little  more  than  go  out  to  eat  and  drink, 
returning  as  quickly  as  possible  to  her  quarters.  James 
Atkinson,  editor  of  the  Homestead,  and  a  practical  swine 
grower,  makes  the  following  suggestion:  "No  greater 
mistake  can  be  made  than  to  let  sows  have  their  own 
way  in  this.  It  matters  not  what  area  they  have  access 
to  they  will  seldom  strike  out  and  make  paths  in  deep 
snow,  and  because  of  this  we  have  found  it  an  excellent 


THE  SOW  :  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  I37 

practice  to  run  some  kind  of  a  sled  around  and  through 
the  pastures,  making  a  clearly  defined  path.  We  know 
of  one  instance  where  a  successful  swine  raiser  runs  the 
King  road  drag  around  a  ten-acre  held.  Instead  of  feed- 
ing- the  swine  in  one  place  he  scatters  dry  shelled  corn  and 
oats  around  this  pathway,  with  the  result  that  the  sows 
spend  almost  the  entire  day  picking  up  this  grain.  It 
requires  a  little  more  feed  to  answer  the  purpose  when 
so  much  exercise  is  taken,  but  the  practice  is  one  to  be 
highly  commended." 

Experienced  farmers  testify  that  no  other  work  in 
winter  will  yield  any  better  results  than  that  which  ought 
to  be  given  to  furnishing  the  brood  sows  exercise,  pure 
air  and  proper  feed  and  watering.  \\'hile  the  sows  are 
away  from  the  quarters  conditions  will  be  bettered  if  the 
beds  are  stirred  out  and  exposed  to  the  fresh  air.  It  is 
probably  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  remarks  here  or 
elsewhere  in  this  volume  about  severe  cold  and  snow  are 
without  application  to  those  vast  sections  of  the  country 
where  cold  and  snow  are  unknown. 

BARREN  SOWS 

A  sow  is  more  liable  to  become  barren  because  of  over- 
feeding and  by  reason  of  being  too  fat  than  from  any 
other  cause ;  this  may  bring  about  a  sluggish  or  non- 
acting'  condition  of  the  ovaries  or  a  closing  of  some  of 
the  passages  by  an  excess  of  fat.  In  such  a  case  the 
proper  remedy  is  to  get  her  back  to  suitable  condition. 
For  a  sow  that  has  failed  to  come  to  heat  the  Breeder's 
Gazette  suggests  the  following  treatment :     "Give  a  full 


138  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

dose  of  epsoni  salts  to  move  the  bowels  thoroughly.  Af- 
terward give  all  the  exercise  possible  and  cut  down  her 
feed  so  tliat  she  will  lose  flesh.  For  ten  davs  give  her 
five  grains  of  iodide  of  potash  night  and  morning.  Stop 
for  a  few  days  if  it  makes  her  sick.  Repeat  in  two 
weeks.  Keep  the  boar  away  from  her  for  a  month,  then 
put  him  in  a  pen  next  to  her  where  he  can  smell  her 
through  a  slat  partition.  This  may  help  to  bring  her 
around.  If  not,  she  should  be  fattened  and  killed,  as 
barrenness  is  often  incurable." 

ABORTION 

Abortion  in  sows  is  not  as  likely  to  be  infectious  as 
is  the  case  in  other  animals.  In  a  case  of  abortion, 
however,  it  is  good  policy  to  separate  the  sow  from  the 
rest  of  the  herd,  as  it  may  be  an  infectious  case,  and,  if 
so,  the  pen  should  be  disinfected  and  the  dead  pigs  and 
afterbirth  well  buried  or  burned.  Infectious  abortion 
does  not  usually  show  as  marked  symptoms  as. sporadic 
abortion,  which  is  generally  due  to  accident,  although  it 
may  come  about  through  bad  feed,  chilling  or  disease. 
Precaution  sliould  be  taken  with  pregnant  sows  to  pre- 
vent accidents,  such  as  fright  by  dogs  or  other  animals, 
kicks,  blows,  or  any  rough  handling. 

The  symptoms  of  abortion  depend  somewhat  upon  the 
stage  of  pregnancy.  Sickness,  shivering  and  indications 
of  pain  in  the  abdomen  are  some  of  the  symptoms.  The 
sow  will  usually  make  a  nest,  as  for  farrowing,  if  not 
too  ill  to  do  so.  When  abortion  occurs  the  sow  should 
be  made  as  quiet  and  comfortable  as  possible.  Dr. 
Robert  A.  Craig  recommends  giving  tincture  of  opium 


THE  SOW  :  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  1 39 

in  teaspoon  fill  doses  every  few  hours  to  quiet  the  sow. 
Abortion  may  be  followed  by  a  discharge  from  the  af- 
fected parts.  Tliis  should  have  local  treatment,  and  the 
sow  should  be  kept  from  the  rest  of  the  herd  and  not 
bred  until  any  such  discharge  has  been  entirely  cured. 

The  sow,  in  most  cases,  will  take  the  boar  from  the 
second  to  the  fourth  day  after  farrowing,  but  mating  at 
this  time  would  seem  a  violation  of  nature's  law,  for 
the  mother  should  have  her  energies  diverted  to  the  pro- 
duction of  milk  for  the  nursing  litter  and  for  sustaining 
her  own  strength.  She  should  not  ha\'e  service  until 
the  first  heat  after  weaning  her  litter.  Then  she  should 
be  so  fed  and  cared  for  as  to  gain  something  in  flesh 
every  day  and  yet  not  become  loaded  with  internal  fat 
from  too  much  heating  and  concentrated  food.  If 
treated  in  a  friendly  way  she  will  be  friendly  and  well 
disposed,  and  ordinarily  come  as  near  paying  richly  for 
all  she  gets  as  any  animal  kept  on  the  farm. 

In  considering  the  efficiency  of  brood  sows,  Henry 
Wallace  gives  the  following  advice :  ''Go  over  those 
that  ha\'e  had  pigs  the  present  year  and  ask  them  the  fol- 
lowing questions :  How  many  pigs  did  you  have  this 
year?  Were  they  even  in  size  and  form?  Were  they 
all  good  ones,  or  did  you  have  two  or  three  choice  pigs 
and  were  the  rest  quite  inferior?  How  did  you  take 
care  of  these  pigs  ?  Are  you  a  good  suckler?  Are  you 
good  natured  ?  Are  you  a  good  mother,  or  are  you  one 
of  the  nervous,  fidgety  kind,  always  worrying  and 
fretting  for  fear  somebody  will  hurt  you  and  your 
precious  piglets?  If  the  brood  sow  on  being  properly 
interrogated,  cannot  give  satisfactory  answers  to  these 


140  SWIXl':    IX    AMERICA 

questions  it  is  not  worth  while  to  scold  her  or  give  her  a 
moral  lecture.  Just  turn  her  into  the  fattening  pen;  for 
there  is  where  she  helongs." 

DIFFICULT  PARTURITION 

Of  this  Dr.  W.  B.  Niles  of  the  Iowa  experiment 
station,  says :  "The  first  indications  of  farrowing  should 
be  noted  and  the  sow  then  carefully  watched  (but  with- 
out disturbing  her),  so  that  in  case  of  difficult  birth  the 
necessary  assistance  can  be  given  at  once.  Early  help 
often  saves  the  pigs,  and  almost  always  the  sow.  Delay 
is  fatal  to  the  mother  and  often  to  the  litter  as  well.  An 
examination  usually  shows  the  dil^culty  due  to  an  un- 
usually large  pig  or  to  one  in  an  abnormal  position. 
Slight  traction,  while,  the  obstructing  pig  is  alive  and 
labor  pains  strong,  will  g^enerally  insure  delivery,  but  if 
assistance  is  delayed  several  hours  the  labor  pains  become 
weak,  the  pigs  die  and  swell  to  two  or  three  times  the 
natural  size,  making  delivery  impossible.  In  some  in- 
stances the  services  of  a  veterinarian  can  be  secured,  but 
often  unless  the  owner  is  prepared  to  deal  with  these 
cases  himself  lo^s  will  ensue.  Often  the  removal  of  the 
obstructing  pig  will  be  followed  by  the  natural  birth  of 
the  remainder,  but  at  other  times  every  pig  must  be 
sought  and  removed,  frecjuently  with  the  utmost  diffi- 
culty. 

"The  delivery  of  the  obstructing  pig  requires  careful, 
({uiet  manipulation,  the  sow  being  disturbed  as  little  as 
possible.  Many  patterns  of  'pig  forceps'  are  on  the  mar- 
ket, but  I  have  found  none  superior  or  equal  to  a  simple 


THE  SOW  :  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  I4I 

wire  hook.  This,  in  the  hands  of  a  carefiu  operator,  is 
a  most  efficient  instrument.  It  can  be  quickly  made 
from  a  j^iece  of  fence  wire,  but  it  is  better  to  make  two 
or  three  at  leisure  and  have  them  on  hand  ready  for  use. 
A  No.  9  or  No.  lo  steel  wire  is  preferred.  From  half 
to  three-fourths  of  an  inch  is  bent  at  a  right  angle  to 
constitute  the  hook,  and  the  end  sharpened.  The  handle 
part  may  be  a  foot  or  more  in  length,  with  the  end  bent 
at  right  angles  or  in  the  form  of  a  circle,  so  that  a  secure 
hold  may  be  had.  Tiie  hook,  by  using  the  fingers  as  a 
guide,  is  inserted  into  tiie  space  between  the  bones  of  the 
lower  jaw  (either  from  within  the  mouth  or  from  be- 
low) or  into  the  socket  of  the  eye.  In  case  considerable 
traction  is  necessary  two  hooks  should  be  inserted  at 
different  points  and  both  drawn  on  at  once.  This  lessens 
the  danger  of  their  tearing  out.  Traction  upon  the  hooks 
should  be  made  coincident  with  the  labor  pains,  the  oper- 
ator holding  what  has  been  gained  until  the  next  pain 
occurs. 

*'If  the  assistance  be  given  early  the  pig  is  usually  se- 
cured alive  and  appears  none  the  worse  for  having  been 
broug-ht  into  the  world  this  way.  In  this,  as  in  other 
lines  of  hog  work,  perseverance  is  the  key  to  success,  and 
the  operator  should  not  be  discouraged  if  at  first  no 
progress  is  made.  By  the  use  of  the  hook  and  finger  the 
writer  was  able  to  extract  a  litter  from  one  of  his  own 
sows  when  the  pigs  had  to  be  first  sought  after  and 
brought  back  into  the  pelvis.  To  illustrate  the  necessity 
for  early  attention,  another  case  from  the  herd  may  be 
mentioned:  A  young  sow  observed  making  prepara- 
tions for  farrowing  was  watched,  and  after  a  long  tiuie, 


V 


142  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

no  headway  being  made,  an  examination  revealed  the 
presence  of  an  unusually  large  pig,  presenting  posterior 
hmbs  first  and  blocking  the  passage.  Traction  on  the 
hind  limbs  removed  a  live  pig.  In  a  short  time  the  same 
operation  was  repeated,  and  so  on  until  delivery  was 
complete.  A  fine  litter  of  large  pigs  was  secured,  and 
both  mother  and  offspring  did  well.  Long  delay  would 
have  resulted  in  the  loss  of  all,  and  neglect,  even  for  a 
short  time,  would  have  been  fatal  to  the  pigs.  The  pre- 
vailing tendency  to  wait  and  see  if  the  sow  will  not 
finally  farrow  without  assistance  yearly  results  in  the  loss 
of  many  sows  which  a  little  early  attention  would  save. 
Neglect  in  separating  the  sow  from  her  mates  in  good 
time  is  also  a  fruitful  source  of  loss  in  some  herds. 

"Following  farrowing  the  quarters  should  be  kept  free 
from  filth  of  all  kinds.  By  keeping  the  pens  clean  much 
of  the  ulcerating  sore  mouths  of  the  young  and  ulcerat- 
ing sore  teats  of  the  mother  will  be  avoided.  While  the 
sore  mouth  does  not  always  result  from  filthy  quarters 
it  is  very  apt  to  do  so.  Could  the  sow  always  be  kept 
in  a  clean  pen  or  yard  the  ulcerated  teats  which  often 
ruin  her  as  a  future  breeder  would  not  occur." 

EXAMPLES  OF  GREAT  PROLIFICACY 

The  statements  following  this  paragraph,  represent- 
ing- various  breeds  and  localities,  are  collated  from  re- 
ports that  have  come  under  the  author's  observation, 
showing  the  wonderful  prolificacy  of  some  sows.  They 
are  not,  however,  given  as  suggesting  that  lie  believes 
such  large  litters  as  are  reported  are  to  be  coveted  by  any 


THE  SOW  :  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  1 43 

farmer  or  breeder,  except  as  they  may  be  a  valuable  in- 
dication to  customers  that  his  hogs  are  of  prolific  strains 
rather  than  the  opposite,  which  is  not  infrequent  in  herds 
of  pure-breds.  In  his  judgment  a  sow  that  successively 
gi\-es  birtli  to  litters  of  eight  ijr  nine,  or  even  se\'en  uni- 
form, \-igorous  pigs  and  brings  them  to  the  weaning  age 
well  nourished,  growthy  and  robust,  meets  all  reasonable 
re(juirements  as  a  mother  and  far  exceeds  the  average. 
In  theory  the  extra  large  litters  may  be  more  than  ordi- 
narily profitable,  but  in  everyday  practice  and  in  the 
long  run  not  one  man  in  a  hundred  finds  them  so. 

O.  B.  Johnson  of  Hendricks  county,  Indiana,  owned  a 
sow  that  within  seven  months  had  40  pigs.  In  the  first 
litter  there  were  19,  and  in  the  next  21. 

\V.  P.  Hollenbeck  of  Schoharie  county,  New  York, 
had  a  sow  that  in  a  little  more  than  two  years  farrowed 
y^  pigs,  in  five  consecutive  litters,  of  14,  17,  14,  15  and  18 
respecti^•ely. 

A  Cheshire  sow  belonging  to  E.  C.  Carpenter  of  Berk- 
shire county,  Massachusetts,  when  25^^  months  old,  had 
given  birth  to  61  pigs  in  four  litters,  numbering  15.  14, 
15  and  17  respectively. 

Walter  Bros,  of  Warren  county,  Ohio,  owned  a  Du- 
roc-Jersey  sow  that  farrowed  14.  10  and  18  pigs,  or  a 
total  of  42  in  less  than  one  year. 

H.  L.  Ives  of  Barton  county,  Kansas,  had  a  Duroc- 
Jersey  that  farrowed  13  pigs;  then  a  second  litter  of  12, 
and  a  third  litter  of  20,  or  a  total  of  45  pigs  in  1 1  months 
and  fi\e  days,  ^^dlen  this  was  all  done  she  was  but  23 
months  and  ten  davs  old.      Fnun  the  three  litters  she 


144  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

raised  12,  seven  and  nine  pigs  respectively,  or  a  total 
of  28. 

A  Dexter,  Minnesota,  man  reports  to  the  Homestead 
that  a  sow  of  his  between  April  12,  1907,  and  April  16, 
1908,  had  litters  of  19,  14  and  15,  or  48  living  pigs. 

J.  S.  Buck  of  Washington  county,  .\rkansas,  reports 
himself  the  owner  of  a  "full-blooded  scrub"  sow  19  years 
old  that  raised  216  pigs — "generally  six  and  never  more 
than  nine  at  one  litter." 

Charles  Price  of  Meade  county,  Kentucky,  reported  to 
the  Fanners'  Home  Joitnial  an  "O.  I.  C."  sow  owned  by 
him  as  having  three  successive  litters  of  17  pigs  each  and 
a  later  one  of  16  pigs.  These  were  sired  by  Duroc- 
Jersey  and  Poland-China  boars,  but  none  of  the  pigs 
were  other  than  "snow  white.'' 

George  G.  Barnes  of  Columbiana  county,  Ohio,  had 
from  a  sow,  between  January,  1902,  and  October,  1903, 
four  litters,  aggregating  y2  pigs.  The  first  litter  consisted 
of  18,  the  second  21,  the  third  19,  and  the  fourth  14. 

Jacob  McCready  of  New  Brunswick  owned  a  3>4-year- 
old  sow  that  produced  19  pigs  in  September  and  15  more 
the  following  March.  The  grandmother  of  this  sow  had 
farrowed  100  pigs  when  four  years  old. 

J.  W.  Yale  of  Connecticut  owned  a  sow  having  21  pigs 
in  the  spring  and  15  the  next  fall. 

Philip  Crewell  of  Lewis  county.  New  York,  had  from 
a  sow  139  pigs  at  nine  farrowings,  or  an  average  of  al- 
most I5>^  pigs  per  litter. 

I.  N.  Barker  of  Boone  county,  Indiana,  owned  a  regis- 
tered Berkshire  sow  that  gave  a  litter  of  14  pigs  which 
weighed  47  pounds  when  24  hours  old. 


THE  SOW  ;  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  I45 

A  Chester  W'liite  sow  belonging  to  J.  C.  Kay  of  .Vdanis 
county,  Nebraska,  farrowed  litters  of  14,  16  and  17  pigs, 
or  a  total  of  47  in  eight  days  less  than  a  year. 

J.  F.  Landers  of  Orange  county,  Vermont,  owned  a 
sow  that  farrowed  23  pigs,  and  his  neighbor  had  a  sow 
that  raised  60  pigs  out  of  six  litters. 

C.  H.  Huddleston  of  Indiana  reared  and  sold,  at  pork 
prices,  from  a  Poland-China  sow  in  five  years  79  pigs 
for  $1073.31,  and  three  others  unsold  made  an  aggregate 
of  82  head. 

George  M.  Kellam  of  Shawnee  county,  Kansas,  raised 
from  a  cross-bred  Berkshire-Poland-China  sow  two  lit- 
ters per  3'ear  for  14  years.  After  raising  two  litters  of 
8  and  6  pigs  respectively,  in  her  fourteenth  year  she  was 
sold  to  the  butcher  when  15  years  old. 

Taylor  Bros,  of  Lynchburg,  Tennessee,  in  answer  to 
inquiries  from  the  National  Stockman  stated  that  a  Berk- 
shire sow,  that  died  November,  1897,  was  owned  in  their 
family  between  t,2  and  34  years,  "and  in  that  time  had 
raised  about  900  fine,  thrifty  pigs,  from  which  money 
enough  was  realized  to  buy  a  good  farm." 

FECUNDITY  OF  TWO  BREEDS  COMPARED 

Li  Circular  95  of  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry, 
Rommel  has  compiled  from  records  of  the  Poland-China 
and  Duroc- Jersey  associations  a  fund  of  figures  showing 
the  fecundity  of  such  a  great  number  of  sows  of  these 
breeds  as  to  make  their  summing  up  thoroughly  repre- 
sentative. Observations  of  14,703  Poland-China  litters 
in  the  five  years,  1882-86,  inclusive,  disclosed  an  average 
of  7.04  pigs  per  litter.     Observations  of  39,812  litters 


I4(>  SWIXE   IN    AMERICA 

of  tile  same  breed  in  the  years  1898-1902,  showed  an 
average  of  ^.^2  pigs.  This  was  an  increase  in  the  later 
live  years  of  .48.  or  nearly  one-half  pig  per  litter,  a 
percentage  of  6.81. 

From  1893  to  1897,  inclusive,  3,762  Duroc-Jersey  sows 
averaged  9.22  pigs  each.  From  1898  to  1902,  inclusive, 
17,890  Duroc-Jersey  sows  averaged  9.27  pigs  each,  or 
an  increase  of  .054  per  cent.  Of  the  more  than  76,000 
sows  of  both  breeds  rei)orted  as  under  observation  one 
Poland-China  farrowed  20  pigs  and  two  Duroc-Jerseys 
a  like  number. 

Rommel  observes  that  while  the  Poland-China  increase 
in  the  later  period  is  not  extraordinary,  "an  undoubted 
increase  is  evident,  and  the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that, 
contrary  to  popular  opinion,  the  sows  of  the  Poland- 
China  breed  have  increased  in  fecundity  during  the  last 
20  years."  Also  of  the  Duroc-Jersey  statistics,  "the  fig- 
ures have  little,  if  any,  value  as  showing  increase  or 
decrease  in  fecundity;  they  are  valuable  as  giving  a  cor- 
rect idea  of  the  fecundity  of  the  breed  as  a  whole.  Com- 
pared with  those  of  the  Poland-China  breed,  these  results 
confirm  common  observation;  viz.,  that  Duroc-Jersey 
sows  are  more  prolific  than  Poland-Chinas." 

AGED  SOWS   THE  BEST  FOR  BREEDING 

An  investigation  at  the  Iowa  experiment  station  to  dis- 
cover the  infiuence  of  the  age  of  sows  upon  their  prolifi- 
cacy and  the  weight  and  growth  of  the  pigs  they  pro- 
duced gave  some  interesting  results.  It  was  found,  for 
example,  that  fifteen  sows  bred  at  eight  or  nine  months, 
axeraged  se\'en  and  two-thirds  pigs  per  litter,  while  14 


THE  SOW  :  SELECTION  AND  MANAGEMENT  1 47 

SOWS  about  24  months  old  averaged  nine  and  six-tenths 
jjigs  per  Htter,  and  aged  sows  averaged  ten  and  six- 
tenths  per  htter.  Pigs  from  the  younger  sows  weighed 
on  an  average  2.39  pounds  per  pig;  from  the  two-year- 
old  sows  2.6;^,  and  from  the  aged  sows  2.61  pounds. 
When  about  six  weeks  old  the  pigs  from  the  young  sows 
made  an  axerage  daily  gain  of  .32  pounds,  while  the  pigs 
from  the  two-year-old  sows  gained  .40  pounds.  No  data 
is  given  on  the  gain  of  the  pigs  from  the  aged  sows. 

Stated  in  another  way  it  was  found  that  the  two-year- 
old  sows  farrowed  24  per  cent  more  pigs  than  the  young 
sows,  while  the  old  sows  farrowed  30  per  cent  more.  The 
weight  of  the  pigs  from  the  two-year-old  sows  was  nine 
per  cent  larger  than  that  of  the  young  sows,  while  the 
])igs  from  the  old  sows  were  12  per  cent  larger  than  from 
the  young  sows.  The  pigs  from  the  two-year-old  sows 
made  a  more  rapid  gain  than  those  from  the  young  sows, 
amounting  to  26  per  cent.  In  each  instance  the  older 
sows  farrowed  more  pigs  per  litter,  heavier  pigs  at  birth, 
and  their  pigs  made  the  most  rapid  growth  after  birth. 

A  BREEDING  CRATE 

AVhere  large  heavy  boars  are  to  be  bred  to  small  sows 
or  small  or  short-legged  boars  to  large  sows  what  is 
known  as  a  breeding  crate  is  extremely  useful  and  al- 
most a  necessity  for  insuring  a  successful  service.  This 
crate  is  a  simple  affair.  The  accompanying  illustration 
shows  how  it  looks.  It  is  a  stout  frame  made  of,  say, 
2x4-inch  scantlings,  closed  in  front  and  open  behind, 
with  a  bar  adjusted  to  slip  behind  the  sow  above  the 
hecks,  and  a  2x4-inch  strip  attached  to  the  forward  end 


I4« 


SWIXE   IX    AMERICA 


o:  the  crate  on  either  side  at  about  where  the  sow's  head 
comes,  and  extending  to  the  rear  and  bottom  where  it  is 
fastened.  These  strips  are  for  the  boar's  forward  feet 
to  rest  upon  and  hold  his  weight  off  the  sow.  A  very 
good  size  for  such  a  crate  is  5>^  or  6  feet  in  length,  2 
feet  4  inches  inside  width,  and  3  feet  high.  Cleats  can 
be  nailed  crosswise  of  the  crate  floor  to  prevent  the  sow's 
slipping.  When  necessary,  in  breeding  a  small  boar  to 
a  large  sow,  a  raised  platform  for  his  hind  feet,  such  as 
the  illustration  shows,  can  be  provided. 


A  PRACTICAL  BREEDING  CRATE 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Pigs.  Weaning  and  Growth 

A  hog  is  half  made  when  past  the  weaning  period 
without  a  stunt  or  kink  in  its  growth.  Every  check  or 
halt  in  prosperity  through  its  first  two  montlis  is  more 
expensive  than  at  any  later  period.  Too  much  rich, 
feverish  milk  of  the  dam,  causing  thumps  or  other  ail- 
ment, may  leav^e  harmful  results,  perhaps  as  much  so  as 
scant  feeding  or  other  neglect  of  the  sow.  More  in- 
jury may  be  done  to  a  pig's  growth  in  two  or  three  days 
than  can  be  repaired  in  a  month,  even  if  he  is  made  the 
subject  of  special  care,  wliich,  where  many  are  raised,  is 
not  the  rule  nor  easily  practicable.  "Good  luck"  with 
pigs  calls  for  attention,  and  that  not  occasional,  but  fre- 
quent and  regular. 

MEANING    THE    PIGS 

From  the  first  week  after  farrowing  until  weaning 
time  the  sow  will  be  little  else  than  a  milk  machine,  and 
to  be  a  high-power  machine  in  perfect  operation  she 
must  have  proper  care.  Nothing  else  is  so  well  calcu- 
lated to  make  pigs  grow  as  a  bountiful  supply  of  whole- 
some sow's  milk,  and  the  pigs  that  have  plenty  of  other 
teed  with  the  milk  of  a  well-slopped  sow  for  eight  weeks 
will  ordinarily  have  much  the  start  of  those  weaned  at 
five  or  six  weeks,  no  matter  how  much  food  and  atten- 
tion the  earlier  weaned  pigs  may  have  had.     At  eight  or 

14!) 


I50 


SWINE    IN    AMERICA 


nine  weeks  old  most  pigs  are,  or  rather  should  be,  fit  to 
take  away  from  the  sow;  some  litters  are  individually 
older  at  seven  weeks  than  others  at  ten,  and  better  fitted 
for  weaning.  Sometimes  it  is  necessary  to  wean  when 
the  pigs  are  five  or  six  weeks  old,  and  in  other  cases  it 
may  be  advisable  to  wait  until  the  pigs  are  ten  weeks  or 
even  older.  In  the  corn  belt  the  period  will  generally 
average  longer  than  in  New  England.  Breeders  who 
wean  at  early  ages  generally  do  so  in  order  to  more 
profitably  raise  tv/o  litters  a  year. 

Provided  with  and  taught  to  eat  suitable  feed  some 
weeks  beforehand  pigs  are  not  noticeably  checked  ni 
their  growth  by  weaning,  but  those  that  have  been  de- 
pendent mainly  upon  the  mother's  milk,  when  abruptly 
taken  away  from  it,  frequently  seem  to  have  their  growth 
partially  suspended  for  weeks.  Many  breeders  success- 
fully let  the  sow  wean  her  pigs,  as  she  will  in  time,  and 
the  change  is  so  gradual  that  no  pause  in  growth  indi- 
cates when  the  milk  diet  ceased.  A  modified  application 
of  this,  in  which  the  pigs  are  separated  from  the  sow  at 
an  age  suiting  their  feeding  and  the  convenience  of  the 
breeder,  will  not  infrequently  be  found  advisable,  but  by 
no  means  should  the  pigs  be  allowed  to  remain  with  a 
sow  until  she  is  virtually  devoured  by  them  as  is  some- 
times done. 

It  is  not  a  good  plan  to  take  all  the  pigs  from  the  sow, 
unless  one  or  two  of  them  can  be  turned  with  her  some 
hours  after,  to  draw  the  milk  she  will  have  at  that 
time,  and  again,  say  after  a  lapse  of  24  hours.  The 
preferred  way  is  to  leave  about  two  of  the  smallest  with 
her  for  several  days,  and  after  that  leave  only  one  for 


pigs:  weaning  and  growth  151 

two  or  three  clays  more,  by  which  time  the  flow  of  milk 
will  have  been  so  gradually  diminished  that  no  injury 
will  result  to  the  sow  by  keeping  them  entirely  away 
from  her.  This  extra  supply  of  milk  helps  also  to  push 
the  smaller  pigs  along  in  growth  and  put  them  more 
nearly  on  an  equality  in  size  with  their  thriftier  mates. 

THE  PIGS'   TROUGH   AND   FEEDING 

By  the  time  the  pigs  are  three  weeks  old  they  are 
likely  to  show  some  appetite  for  other  food  than  the 
sow's  milk  by  trying  the  mother's  feed,  nipping  at  grass 
and  making  an  occasional  effort  at  rooting.  At  this 
period  a  small  trough  should  be  placed  in  a  part  of  the 
pen  or  lot  inaccessible  to  the  sow,  but  easily  reached  by 
the  pigs,  and  into  this  about  three  or  four  times  a  day, 
for  several  days,  a  little  sweet  milk  can  be  poured — 
whatever  they  will  drink  up  clean,  but  not  more,  in- 
creasing the  quantity  as  they  grow  older;  then  some 
shelled  corn,  soaked  in  pure  water  24  hours  or  longer, 
should  be  given,  and  corn  meal  mush,  scalded  bran  with 
shorts,  and  other  nourishing  food  to  make  a  healthful 
variety.  The  bran  and  shorts,  scalded  and  made  into  a 
thin  gruel,  may  be  given  at  first  in  place  of  the  skim 
milk.  The  pig's  capacity  is  small,  and  he  will  Tequire 
frequent  feedings  with  fresh  feed  easy  of  digestion. 
Feed  should  never  be  permitted  to  remain  in  the  troughs 
until  stale,  and  the  troughs  should  be  kept  clean.  The 
little  pigs  will  quickly  learn  what  the  troughs  are  for, 
and  will  utilize  their  contents  more  frequently  as  they 
increase  in  age.  As  weaning  time  approaches  the  sow's 
feed  may  gradually  be  changed  to  a  sort  that  will  make 


152  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

less  milk  until  she  is  dry.  The  (hy  sows  sliould  proi)erIy 
have  a  pasture  of  their  own.  and  their  feechni;-  should  be 
moderate,  and  of  a  growth-making-  rather  than  fat- 
forming  character  until  they  are  again  in  pig. 

Following  their  weaning  the  proper  policy  is  to  feed 
the  pigs  for  growth  rather  than  fat,  yet  if  at  the  age  of 
eight  weeks  they  are  not  plump  and  sleek  it  is  pretty 
strong  evidence  that  some  of  the  conditions  ha\e  been 
unfavorable.  They  should  be  thrifty,  but  not  over  fat, 
and  have  opportunity  for  plenty  of  exercise  and  sun- 
shine, which  are  useful  preventives  of  thumps  and  scours, 
both  after  and  before  weaning. 

Where,  to  save  them,  it  is  found  necessary  to  raise 
pigs  b}^  hand,  and  a  bottle  and  nipple  are  not  in  ready 
reach,  an  old-fashioned  substitute  for  the  mother  is  a 
shallow  tin  dish  with  a  piece  of  cloth  drawn  tightly 
through  a  hole  in  the  bottom.  The  cloth  should  extend 
about  an  inch  both  above  and  below  the  bottom  of  the 
pan.  When  the  pan  is  filled  with  warm,  sweet  milk 
and  the  upper  end  of  the  cloth  is  placed  in  the  pig's 
mouth  he  will  not  be  at  a  loss  to  locate  the  nourishment. 
The  children  will  be  glad  to  see  that  the  pig's  "pan 
mother"  is  ready  at  the  proper  times. 

DRY,   AVARM  QUARTERS 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  for  swine,  as  for 
all  other  stock,  warmth  is  to  a  certain  extent  equivalent 
to  food,  for  which  reason  comfortable  surroundings 
have  a  money  value,  the  protected  animals  not  only  re- 
quiring- less  food,  but  growing  faster  than  their  less 
favored  relatives.     A  dry,  warm  sleeping  place  means 


A  Two-Months-Old  Rape  Plant 


pigs:  weaning  and  growth  153 

something  more  than  much  l)edding-.  If  too  much  bed- 
ch'ng-  is  provided  the  natural  tendency  is  to  allow  it  to 
remain  longer  in  use  than  a  smaller  quantity  would  be, 
and  it  becomes  damp  and  filthy.  With  fall  pigs  partic- 
ularly there  is  danger  in  such  cases  of  cough  or  other 
ailments  that  are  a  check  to  thrift.  A  moderate  quantity 
of  bedding,  changed  so  that  the  bed  is  always  dry  and 
decently  clean,  is  far  better  than  a  large  quantity. 

Damp  beds  and  pens  are  a  tax  not  only  on  the  vitality 
of  the  pigs,  but  on  the  feed  bin,  and  afford  the  conditions 
under  which  disease  germs  multiply.  The  preventive  is 
abundant  sunshine.  One  writer  has  said  that  swine 
breeders  and  feeders  spend  money  enough  for  dis- 
infectants and  cholera  cures  to  pay  the  interest  on  the 
national  debt,  "and  likely  the  men  who  are  spending  the 
most  money  for  loud-smelling  disinfectants  are  the  ones 
who  fail  to  appreciate  nature's  best  gift  to  man — sun- 
shine. It  is  the  source  of  life  to  vegetable  and  animal. 
The  wood  and  coal  we  feed  our  fires  with  are  but  stored- 
up  sunshine.  Sunshine  warms  and  cheers.  It  is  essen- 
tial to  life.  It  is  as  essential  to  health.  Its  power  to 
destroy  germs  of  disease  is  really  a  new  discovery.  Our 
mothers  knew  the  value  of  sunshine  as  a  sweetener  of 
milk  crocks  and  featlier  beds,  but  the  why  they  knew  not, 
l)ut  s(j  long  as  they  loved  tidiness  and  sweetness  in  the 
milk  room  and  home  and  were  careful  to  keep  the  crocks 
and  ])eds  sweet  by  exposure  to  the  sun,  they  were  killing 
microbes  just  as  surely  as  did  the  scientist  who  proved 
his  work,  and  gave  us  the  result  of  his  patient  effort." 


154 


SWINE   IN   AMERICA 


CASTRATION 


The  boar  pigs,  where  it  is  not  desired  to  reserve  them 
for  breeding  purposes,  should  be  castrated  when  from 
two  to  ten  weeks  old,  so  they  may  recover  from  its  result- 
ing soreness  before  weaning  time.  Castrating  should  be 
done  when  the  weather  is  cool,  and  flies  are  not  numer- 
ous. The  pig  that  is  to  be  fattened  has  no  need  to  de- 
velop sexual  characteristics,  and  for  that  reason  a  fairly 
early  castration  is  advisable.  Spaying  sows  is  a  more 
difficult  operation  than  the  castration  of  boars,  and  on 
that  account  is  not  largely  practiced.  It  should  be  done 
after  the  sow  is  ten  or  12  weeks  old,  and  then  only  by 
a  person  entirely  familiar  with  the  proper  method.  Cas- 
tration and  spaying  are  more  fully  discussed  in  the  chap- 
ter devoted  to  these  subjects. 

FATTENING  PIGS 

Up  to  the  time  of  weaning  all  the  pigs  in  a  litter  are 
fed  on  the  same  basis;  after  that  time  the  manner  of 
feeding  will  depend  on  whether  they  are  headed  for  the 
slaughterhouse  or  breeding  pen.  If  any  are  for  breed- 
ing stock,  their  growth-making  feed  will  be  continued 
while  those  to  be  fattened  should  have  more  carbona- 
ceous rations. 

''Growing  pigs,  and  especially  those  designed  for 
breeding  stock,"  says  W.  A.  Henry,  "should  be  abun- 
dantly nourished  on  feeds  rich  in  protein,  since  these 
favor  the  development  of  both  bone  and  muscle.  Mid- 
dlings are  the  best  single  feeding  stuff,  and  should  be 
extensively  used  whenever  possible.  Ground  field  peas, 
cowpeas   and   soy  beans   may  also   be  used,   the   latter 


pigs:  weaning  and  growth  155 

two  being  especially  available  in  the  southern  states.  In 
no  case  feed  cottonseed  meal  to  pigs.  Skim  milk  and 
buttermilk  are  of  the  highest  value.  An  ideal  mixture 
would  be  four  pounds  of  skim  milk,  two  pounds  of  mid- 
dlmgs  and  one  pound  of  corn  meal  for  young  pigs.  In 
I)lace  of  the  middlings  cowpeas  or  soy  beans  might  be 
substituted,  if  available.  .V  run  on  a  pasture  seeded  with 
crimson  clover  or  Japanese  clover  for  the  south,  and  blue 
grass  or  red  clover  for  the  more  northerly  points  [or 
alfalfa  anywhere]  is  almost  an  essential;  in  any  event, 
a  good  range  must  be  given  for  young  breeding  stock. 
With  good  pasture  and  abundant  exercise,  pigs  designed 
for  breeding  purposes  can  be  fed  practically  to  the  limit 
of  tjjeir  desire.  Of  course,  no  feed  should  ever  remain 
in  tiie  trough,  and  it  is  well  to  have  the  animals  willing 
to  take  just  a  little  more,  as  an  active,  well  bred  am- 
bitious pig  is  always  desirous  of  doing." 

In  these  days  tlie  American  pig  makes  a  speedy  jour- 
ney from  farrowing  bed  to  scalding  tub,  and  the  aim  of 
the  judicious  feeder  is  to  add  constantly  to  the  flesh  ac- 
quired while  suckling,  bringing  the  hog  up  to  250  to  450 
pounds  as  early  and  on  as  inexpensive  feed  as  possible. 
Tlie  young  animal  will  naturally  put  on  weight  more 
cheaply  than  an  older  one,  and  gains  after  ten  months 
cost  considerably  more  per  pound  than  those  made  ear- 
lier. A  pig  which  is  being  fattened  should  gain  from 
one  to  two  pounds  a  day,  and  weigh,  alive,  250  to  350 
pounds  when  nine  to  12  months  old. 

FALL   PIGS 

The  possibilities  of  profit  in  fall  pigs  will  depend 
upon   the  ability  and   situation   of  tlie  breeder.      Som^ 


1^6  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

swine  raisers  will  make  winter  pigs  profitablt  in  the 
face  of  all  the  disadvantages  which  niay  attend  their 
rearing,  while  others  obtain  little  profit  from  spring 
litters  reared  with  every  advantage.  Where  snow  falls, 
the  fall  pigs  will  require  a  good  deal  of  care  and  warm, 
dry  pens,  and  not  so  many  can  be  handled  well  in  winter 
weather  as  may  be  cared  for  in  summer,  when  growing 
feed  is  abundant  and  exercise  is  natural.  A  difficulty 
with  fall  pigs,  if  the  climate  is  at  all  severe,  is  in  their 
desire  to  avoid  exercise  in  cold  weather.  A  calf  or  a 
colt  will  make  the  most  of  his  freedom  on  a  wintry  day, 
securing  both  exercise  and  warmth  by  playing  and 
moving  about,  but  a  hog  is  inclined  to  eat  and  take  to 
his  bed  until  time. to  eat  again.  Various  methods  of 
overcoming  this  in  a  measure  have  been  suggested,  but 
it  is  difficult  to  give  any  which  will  meet  all  situations. 
Herding  with  corn-fed  cattle  has  been  found  to  work 
well  and  where  the  cattle  are  fed  all  the  corn  they  will 
eat,  the  pigs  will  obtain  exercise  in  picking  grain  from 
the  droppings. 

Pigs  cannot  thrive  on  ice  water,  and  in  cold  weather 
should  have  access  to  drink  less  chilly.  Slop  fed  to 
them  moderately  warmed  is  much  better  than  if  near 
the  freezing  point. 

Late  or  winter  litters  in  a  cold  climate  may  properly 
be  classed  as  hothouse  product,  and  pigs  that  come  in 
November,  December  or  January  and  are  saved  from 
perishing  only  by  the  use  of  stoves  and  coddling  in 
close,  stuffy  quarters  are  likely  to  be  more  or  less  stunted 
and  undersized — not  a  money-making  lot  at  best.     Fall 


pigs:  weaning  and  growth  157 

pigs  should  come  early  enough  that  they  may  be  weaned 
before  snow  time. 

Fall  pigs  should  not  be  kept  together  in  large  numbers ; 
eight  or  ten  are  enough  for  one  pen,  as  they  are  likely 
to  pile  up  so  that  the  steaming  of  their  bodies  will  render 
I  hem  liable  to  colds.  They  should  have  the  nearest  sul)- 
stitute  for  fresh,  green  food  that  the  owner  can  pro- 
\ide,  and  be  given  access  to  salt  and  cob  charcoal  or 
similar  correctives,  tonics  or  appetizers. 

Feeds  for  winter  pigs  must  necessarily  be  more  expen- 
sive than  for  summer  pigs;  more  food  is  recjuired  to 
produce  a  pound  of  pork  in  winter  than  in  summer,  since 
a  greater  amount  has  to  be  utilized  in  merely  keeping 
the  body  warm.  If  the  price  of  pork  remains  the  same, 
a  dollar's  worth  of  feed  stuffs  fed  to  summer-grown 
hogs  will  return  a  greater  \n-i)\\t  tlian  a  dollar  thus 
invested  for  winter-grown  hogs.  The  matter  reduces 
itself  to  this:  to  make  winter  pig-growing"  pay,  summer 
conditions  as  to  both  cheapness  of  feed  and  comfortable 
surroundings  must  be  approached  as  nearly  as  possible. 

I'he  foregoing  suggestions  apply,  of  course,  to  the 
more  northern  sections  of  the  United  States.  In  the 
Soutli  and  milder  sections  of  the  Pacific  coast  region 
less  exacting  conditions  prevail. 

NEED   OF  EXERCISE 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  a  growing  pig  needs 
abundant  exercise.  This  will  not  only  stimulate  growth, 
but  it  will  also  do  much  to  ward  off  sickness.  Many  out- 
breaks of  disease  might  have  been  avoided  if  its  victims 


158  SWINE   IlST-  AMERICA 

had  not  been  too  closely  confined.  A  pig  having  ample 
exercise  is  pretty  well  insured  against  thumps.  A  suc- 
cessful breeder  whose  pigs  were  never  afflicted  with 
thumps  attributed  their  immunity  to  the  fact  that  he  kept 
a  large  box  near  the  pen  and  if  any  pig  began  to  be  un- 
duly fat  and  particularly  chufify  around  the  neck  it  was 
put  into  the  box  and  left  to  squeal  and  chase  about  for 
two  hours  at  a  time  in  endeavor  to  escape.  The  treatment 
was  repeated  once  or  twice  a  day  until  the  pig  showed 
satisfactory  evidence  of  being  in  no  danger. 

MARKING  PIGS 

With  the  beginner  in  pure-bred  swine-raising  there  is 
always  the  problem  of  how  best  to  mark  his  pigs  for 
identifying  the  litters  or  sows  to  which  they  belong.  No 
system  has  been  devised  which  is  entirely  satisfactory,  be- 
cause the  metal  buttons  or  tags  made  for  such  use  are 
frequently  torn  out  and  lost,  and  markings  with  slits 
or  notches  in  the  ears  are  liable  to  change  or  obliteration 
by  accidents.  A  method  perhaps  as  simple  and  effective 
as  any  in  use  is  shown  by  the  illustration  herewith,  in 
which  the  marking  consists  of  notches  cut  in  the  ears.  A 
notch  in  the  right  ear  counts  for  one,  and  a  notch  in  the 
left  ear  counts  for  three.  When  the  first  litter  arrives  all 
the  pigs  belonging  to  it  can  be  given  one  notch  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  outside  of  the  right  ear.  Litter  No. 
2  can  have  two  notches  in  the  right  ear,  which  means 
2,  because  the  one  and  one  mean  2 ;  the  third  litter  is 
marked  with  one  notch  in  the  left  ear,  which,  as  stated, 
means  3 ;  pigs  of  the  fourth  litter  are  given  one  notch  in 
each  ear,  because  the  one  and  three  mean  4;  the  fifth 


pigs:  weaning  and  growth  159 

sow's  pigs  are  marked  two  notches  in  the  right  ear  and 
one  in  the  left,  because  2  and  3  make  5 ;  htter  No.  6  is 
marked  two  notches  in  the  left  ear,  while  litter  No. 
7  is  marked  two  in  the  left  and  one  in  the  right ; 
No.  8,  two  in  the  left  and  two  in  the  right;  No.  9, 
three  in  the  left  and  No.  10,  three  in  the  left  and  one 
in   the   right.      If   there   are   more   than   ten   sows   the 

tjgd  t;^  Ctgrf  fjrd  fjyJ 
&;«  cjjd  b:^  CjggJ  Et;» 

A  SIMPLE   SYSTEM    OF  EAR   MARKING 

same  method  can  be  used  for  tlieir  litters,  up  to  ten, 
placing  the  notches  in  the  lower  part  of  the  ears.  For 
pigs  of  sows  in  numbers  from  20  to  30  the  notches 
can  be  in  the  top  of  the  ear.  Sometimes  the  litters  be- 
tween ten  and  twenty  are  marked  the  same  as  between 
one  and  ten,  with  the  exception  that  a  notch  is  put  in  the 
top  of  one  ear,  which  simply  indicates  that  all  pigs  so 
marked  are  numbered  between  ten  and  20  and  not  be- 
tween one  and  ten.  On  little  pigs  the  notches  should  be 
made  quite  small,  otherwise  disfigurement  will  result 
when  the  hog  is  grown.  Noticeable  disfigurement  of  any 
sort  on  animals  intended  for  exhibition,  places  them  at 
a  disadvantage  in  a  close  competition,  perhaps  depriving 
them  of  an  otherwise  merited  prize,  and  this  should  be 
borne  in  mind  when  marking  is  being  done. 


CHAPTER  IX 

Pasturing  and  Soiling 

Wheresoever  situated,  no  tarnier  is  rij^-htly  prepared  to 
raise  hogs  i^rotitably  in  any  consielerable  numbers  unless 
well  provided  with  pasture  and  grass  or  facilities  for 
providing  acceptable  substitutes.  In  the  economical 
growing  of  pork  there  is  no  more  important  factor  to  be 
considered  than  that  of  pasture.  Range  in  pasture  af- 
fords growing  animals  the  exercise  so  necessary  to 
health  and  proper  development ;  and  the  succulent 
grasses,  while  rich  in  muscle  and  bone-forming  mate- 
rials, tend  to  prevent  disease  and  to  counteract  the 
heating  and  fever-imparting  properties  of  corn.  This 
latter  quality,  and  exercise,  annually  save  many  thou- 
sands of  dollars  to  hog-raisers  in  the  United  States, 
yet  the  loss  that  results  every  day  to  farmers  who  do 
not  act  upon  the  fact  that  the  hog  is,  in  his  normal 
condition,  a  ranging  and  grass-eating  animal,  is  still 
enormous.  Because  the  hog  is  tractable  and  uncomplain- 
ing his  keeper  often  does  not  realize  that  an  effort  to 
maintain  him  wholly  upon  the  more  concentrated  and 
heating  feeds  is  as  unnatural  and  unprofitable  as  it  would 
be  to  keep  horses  or  cows  in  the  same  manner.  A  further 
and  very  important  consideration  in  favor  of  grass  and 
forage  for  swine  in  summer  is  its  small  cost,  which,  as 
compared  with  grain-feeding,  is  merely  nominal. 

IGO 


PASTURliXG    Ai\D    SOILING 


i6i 


IL  is  well  put  by  Director  H.  J.  Waters  of  the  Mis- 
souri experiment  station,  in  Bulletin  No.  79,  and  with  a 
wide  application  elsewhere,  outside  of  his  state,  in  his 
a\ernient  that  "perhaps  the  largest  single  waste  occur- 
ring on  the  Missouri  farm  is  that  which  comes  from  the 
too  exclusive  use  of  corn  in  growing  and  fattening-  hogs. 
The  cheapest  and  most  easily  applied  remedy  is  a  more 
general  use  of  the  proper  forage  plants  in  summer  and 
the  use  of  some  home-grown  protein  in  winter.  It  is 
not,  of  course,  to  be  denied  that  the  hog  is  primarily  a 
grain  consuming  animal,  but  forage  plays  an  important 
role  in  economical  hog  production  and  deserves  far 
more  attention  than  it  has  yet  received." 

COMPARATIVE   A  ALUE    OF   PASTURE   FOOD 

A  comparison  merely  of  the  nutritive  values  in  the 
product  of  an  acre  of  land  in  grain  or  in  grass,  including 
the  legumes,  such  as  clover,  particularly  red  clover,  and 
alfalfa,  serves  to  show  the  importance  of  the  grass.  If 
a  comparative  basis  be  taken  of  four  pounds  of  grain  or 
15  pounds  of  green  clover  or  alfalfa  to  make  one  pound 
of  pork,  and  the  pork  is  valued  at  four  cents  a  pound, 
the  following  table  will  show  a  fair  average: 

NUTRITIVE    MATERIAL  PRODUCED  ON   ONE  ACRE   OF   LAND 
IN    CEREALS  OR   LEGUMES 


Product 

Gross  Product 
per  acre 

Pork  per 
acre 

Value  at  4 
cents  per  lb. 

Wheat 

1  5  bushels 

3  5 

40        ■• 

40 

25 

6  tons 
10     " 

900  pounds 
1,680       " 
1,320       '• 
2,240       " 
1,500 
12,000       " 
20.000       " 

225  pounds 
420       " 
330       " 
560       ■• 
375 

800       " 
1,333        '■ 

$9.00 

Barley 

16  80 

13.20 

22.40 

Peas                  .... 

15.00 

32  00 

53.32 

l62  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

This  estimate  of  the  product  of  an  acre  of  clover  or  of 
alfalfa  may  be  considered  rather  low  (especially  for 
alfalfa),  as  often  a  larger  yield  is  obtained  in  a  favor- 
able season.  In  fact,  in  an  experiment  at  the  Oregon 
station  (Bulletin  No.  80 j  in  which  12  pigs  about  three 
months  old  were  hurdled  on  good  clover  from  Alay  2  to 
August  2,  results  nearly  one-third  better  were  secured. 
In  addition  to  the  clover  the  pigs  were  given  317  pounds 
of  shorts  (worth  $11  a  ton),  69  pounds  of  whole  milk 
(worth  90  cents  a  hundredweight)  and  1,207  pounds  of 
skim  milk  (worth  15  cents  a  hundredweight).  A  gain  of 
253  pounds  was  reported,  valued  at  4>^  cents  a  pound. 
The  pigs  utilized  26  square  rods  of  clover.  As  the  gain 
was  worth  $11.38  and  the  supplementary  feed  (shorts 
and  milk)  cost  but  $4.17,  the  profit  by  means  of  clover 
pasture  was  $7.21,  from  which  the  deduction  was  made 
in  the  report  of  the  experiment  that  "it  seems  that  one 
acre  of  good  clover  for  growing  hogs  represents  a  value 
of  $44-36." 

If  the  foregoing  table,  compiled  by  the  author  from  the 
figures  of  scientific  observers,  may  be  accepted  as  reliable 
in  practice,  it  is  evident  that  an  acre  of  alfalfa  is  worth 
for  growing  swine  as  much  as  six  acres  of  average 
wheat,  more  than  four  acres  of  good  oats,  almost  as 
much  as  2  2-5  acres  of  good  corn,  and  equal  in  value 
to  I   2-^  acres  of  clover. 

SOILING  y 

Soiling  may  be  defined  as  the  practice  of  providmg 
confined  live  stock  with  freshly  cut  forage.  Its  advan- 
tages have  long  been  recognized,  and  one  of  the  earliest 


rASTLRING    AND    SOILING  ,163 

recorded  American  experiments  was  that  of  Josiah 
Quincy,  by  which  he  found  that  20  cows  could  be  sup- 
pHed  by  soihng  from  17  acres  of  land,  while  50  acres 
were  necessary  to  pasture  a  like  number. 

Soiling  crops  are  more  frequently  used  for  the  larger 
animals  than  for  swine,  and  the  greater  number  of  ex 
periments  with  green  food  for  swine  have  been  with 
pasturage.  A  dairy  cow  may  be  more  successfully 
maintained  by  soiling  than  on  pasture,  but  a  hog,  kept 
in  a  pen  and  furnished  grass  only,  would  prove  unprof- 
itable. This  was  tested  at  the  Utah  station  (Bulletin  No. 
40),  where  shotes  confined  in  pens  and  fed  on  green 
forage  exclusively,  mainly  alfalfa,  lost  more  than  yi 
pound  per  day  during  a  period  of  three  months. 

This  does  not  at  all  signify  that  soiling  may  not  be 
valuable  in  swine-rearing,  but  it  emphasizes  the  impor- 
tance of  supplemental  feeding.  If  grain  is  the  main 
feed,  pasturage  or  soiling  may  supplement  it,  while  to 
hogs  on  even  the  best  of  alfalfa  pasture  the  ear  or  more 
of  corn  that  may  be  given  daily  will  be  the  supplemen- 
tary part  of  the  ration.  In  any  case  the  ratio  of  feeds 
should  be  so  adjusted  that  the  hogs  will  not  lose  weight 
or  remain  at  a  standstill.  The  feeder  should  consider  al- 
ways that  any  day  between  weaning  and  starting  to  mar- 
ket in  which  the  hogs  do  not  make  some  gain  is  a  day 
lost,  if  not  worse. 

VALUE    OF    PASTURE    AND    SOILING 

Results  at  the  experiment  stations,  so  far  as  reported, 
show  that  soiling  swine  may  be  entirely  profitable. 
In    Utah,    where    the    problem    "resolves    itself    into 


164  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

i;rowiiig-  i)igs  with  a  inininuini  quantity  of  grain  and  a 
maxiniuni  of  alfalfa,  milk  and  whey,  or  other  cheap 
foods,"  numerous  experiments  have  been  conducted  to 
demonstrate  the  status  of  pasturage  and  soiling  (Bulle- 
tins Nos.  40,  70  and  94  ).  X'arious  tests  with  pigs  fed  by 
soiling  compared  with  others  on  a  grain  ration  (Bulletin 
Xo.  70)  gave  from  the  soiling  a  saving  of  nearly  ten  per 
cent  in  the  feed  required  to  make  one  pound  of  gain, 
besides  a  daily  gain  nearly  one-fourth  of  a  pound  better. 

From  1890  to  1902  more  than  100  tests  were  made  at 
the  Utah  station,  which  were  of  direct  or  comparative 
xalue  regarding  pasturage  and  soiling  for  swine.  Aver- 
age results  of  these  are  given  in  the  table  on  page  165, 
from  Bulletin  No.  94  of  the  Utah  station,  in  which  con- 
clusions are  drawn  from  the  experiments. 

The  following  comment  was  made  in  the  bulletin  con- 
taining the  following  table  concerning  the  results  of  us- 
ing part-grain  and  full-grain  rations  in  connection  with 
pasturage:  "The  table  shows  that  14  tests  were  made, 
with  43  hogs  on  pasture  and  given  a  part-grain  ration. 
It  is  obvious  that  the  hogs  fed  on  the  light-grain  ra- 
tions did  proportionately  much  better  than  those  fed  with 
a  full-grain  ration ;  that  is,  the  gain  per  day  was  greater 
than  the  ration  of  grain  would  indicate,  showing  that  the 
hogs  ate  a  large  proportion  of  pasture  grass  and  made 
good  use  of  it.  A  simple  calculation  will  show  this.  The 
hogs  fed  a  full-grain  ration  on  pasture  made  an  average 
gain  of  1.22  pounds  per  day.  Theoretically,  those  fed  a 
three- fourths-grain    ration   should   have  gained   but   .91 


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l66  SWINE   IN    AiMERICA 

pounci  per  clay;  they  gaineu,  however,  1.04  pounds  per 
day.  Those  fed  on  a  one-half-grain  ration  gained  .70 
pound  a  day  per  hog,  instead  of  .61  pound;  and  those  fed 
on  a  one-fourth-g-rain  ration  gained  .49  pound  per  day, 
instead  of  the  theoretical  amount,  .30  po'ind  a  day.  In 
fact,  the  amount  of  food  obtained  from  the  pasture  must 
have  been  much  more  than  is  indicated,  as  the  food  of 
support  is  a  constant  factor  and  makes  up  about  two- 
fifths  of  the  full-grain  ration.  The  hogs  getting  the  one- 
fourth-grain  ration,  therefore,  did  not  receive  enough 
grain  to  support  the  life  processes  of  the  body,  and  must 
have  made  up  this  deficiency  from  the  pasture  grass  and 
also  have  eaten  enough  extra  to  make  a  gain  of  practi- 
cally half  a  pound  per  day.  In  the  earlier  tests  made  in 
feeding  on  a  pasture  of  mixed  grasses,  there  were  four 
trials  in  which  ten  hogs  were  used.  These  showed  that 
the  hogs  gained  one-third  pound  per  day  on  pasture 
alone. 

"When  fed  a  limited  grain  ration  on  pasture,  the  hogs 
ate  less  grain  for  each  pound  of  gain  than  when  fed 
the  full-grain  ration.  Using  round  numbers,  a  three- 
fourths-grain  ration  saved  one-third  pound  of  grain ;  a 
one-half-grain  ration,  one  pound  of  grain;  a  one-fourth- 
grain  ration,  lYi  pounds  of  grain  for  each  pound  of  in- 
crease in  live  weight.  Or,  at  75  cents  per  100  pounds  of 
ihe  grain,  this  would  be  a  saving  in  cost  of  production  of 
/4  cent,  M  cent,  and  i^^g  cents  for  each  pound  of  gain 
respectively,  if  nothing  is  charged  for  the  pasture. 

"Our  experience  shows  that  the  hogs  fed  on  a  limited 
grain  ration  on  pasture  gained  quite  rapidly  when  later 
put  on  a  full-grain  ration,  and  made  those  gains  at  a 


PASTURING    AND    SOILING  167 

slightly  less   cost   for   food   than  the   hogs   fed   a   full- 
grain  ration." 

Considering  the  financial  side,  with  the  price  of  grain 
as  stated,  the  lot  fed  with  "grain  alone  on  pasture  re- 
quired $5.32  worth  of  grain,  while  the  value  of  the  gain 
was  $8.13,  showing  a  profit  of  $2.71  on  the  feed,  or 
more  than  50  per  cent.  If  the  gain  was  worth  four 
cents  per  pound,  then  the  profit  on  the  grain  was  over 
100  per  cent.  With  a  half-grain  ration  on  pasture,  the 
returns,  with  the  gain  valued  at  three  cents  a  pound,  are 
over  100  per  cent  on  the  cost  of  the  grain,  and  at  four 
cents  per  pound  for  the  gain  nearly  200  per  cent  profit. 
On  this  point  again  a  limited-grain  ration  on  pasture 
gives  the  largest  returns  for  the  grain  fed." 

LIMITATIONS    OF    PASTURAGE 

The  quantity  of  food  required  merely  to  sustain  an 
animal  is  not  inconsiderable,  and  this  will  be  influenced 
somewhat  by  the  efTort  necessary  to  secure  it.  Too  wide 
a  range  in  pasture  may  therefore  be  disadvantageous  in 
encouraging  the  hog  to  become  too  much  of  a  traveler. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  swine-raiser  who  gives  his  hogs 
all  the  corn  they  will  eat,  with  plenty  of  water  and  shade 
in  the  feed-lot,  may  wonder  why  his  hogs  prefer  lying 
down  and  resting  between  meals  to  roaming  in  available 
pasture.  Profitable  results  demand  a  reasonable  limita- 
tion in  both  directions,  and  an  avoidance  always  of  excess 
in  either. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  unlimited  pasture  may  be  con- 
sidered economical  except  perhaps,  for  brood  sows.  The 
proper  amount  of  land  to  give  over  to    pasture    must 


1 68  SWINE   IX   AMERICA 

necessarily  vary  according  to  its  quality  and  other  local 
considerations,  and  the  length  of  time  the  pasture  will 
sustain  hogs  likewise  is  dependent  upon  the  climate,  qual- 
ity of  the  crop,  age  and  number  of  the  animals,  and 
other  varying  conditions.  For  an  average  it  may  be  said 
that  an  acre  of  red  clover  should  support  six  to  ten  hogs 
for  three  or  four  months.  Alfalfa,  the  leading  pasture 
plant  for  swine,  should  provide,  if  of  vigorous  growth, 
for  twelve  to  twenty-five  animals  per  acre,  but  an  alfalfa 
stand  should  not  be  grazed  by  so  many  hogs  that  mow- 
ings will  not  be  necessary  for  keeping  it  in  the  best  con- 
dition. The  practice  with  alfalfa  should  be  to  pasture 
fewer  hogs  than  will  be  able  to  keep  back  a  rank  or 
woody  growth.  If  only  such  number  of  hogs  is  kept 
on  the  alfalfa  as  will  permit  from  one  to  three  cuttings 
of  'hay  being  harvested  from  it  in  course  of  the  season 
the  pasturage  will,  on  account  of  its  fresh  growths,  be 
much  better  for  the  hogs,  and  the  money  values  returned 
be  considerably  greater.  Blue  grass  may  be  allotted  eight 
to  12  hogs  per  acre,  and  more  if  the  grass  is  in  first- 
class  condition.  A  good  sod  of  Bermuda  grass  should 
provide  for  about  the  same  number.  Cowpeas  will  prob- 
ably support  six  or  eight  thrifty  shotes,  and  artichokes, 
chufas  and  Spanish  peanuts  will  supply  eight  or  ten  hogs, 
the  length  of  time  depending  upon  the  proportion  of 
grain  provided.  These  estimates  may  be  entirely  out  of 
line  in  some  instances,  as  modifications  are  liable  to  oc- 
cur in  the  conditions  governing  any  situation.  Taking 
these  into  consideration,  however,  a  hog-raiser  may  use 
the  foregoing  as  suggestions  to  figure  from,  and  by  the 


PASTURING    AND    SOILING  169 

observation  of  his  ow.n  situation  for  a  season  or  two 
lie  will  be  able  to  arrange  his  crop  areas  according  to 
his  individual  needs  and  facilities. 

As  indicated,  it  is  desirable  that  the  pasture  shall  not 
1)6  too  larg;e,  and  particularly  when  hogs  are  first  turned 
in,  as  their  natural  instinct  for  foraging  will  otherwise 
induce  them  to  traverse  too  much  territory,  thereby 
injuring  the  crop  and  failing  to  reap  its  full  value.  This 
may  be  avoided  by  using  portable  fences  or  hurdles 
with  which  the  proper  area  may  be  defined.  If  this 
is  done  the  hogs  will  clean  up  the  crop  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage as  they  go.  If  it  is  tubers,  beans  and  peas,  much 
that  would  otherwise  be  destroyed  will  be  utilized,  and 
the  fences  can  be  moved  as  occasion  may  require.  Re- 
striction of  the  hogs'  roaming  is  not  so  necessary  on 
grass,  clover  or  alfalfa  pasture.  Overstocking  any  pas- 
ture is  to  be  a\-oided.  If  too  many  hogs  are  turned  in, 
or,  what  is  practically  the  same  thing,  the  area  is  too 
small,  its  vegetation  may  be  entirely  killed  and  the  hogs 
fail  to  thrive. 

EARLY  PASTURAGE 

A  bite  of  something  green  early  in  the  year  is  relished 
by  swine  of  any  age,  and  it  offers  qualities  highly  valued 
by  the  farmer  who  understands  the  economy  of  feeding. 
Some  highly  rated  pasture  plants  are  not  available  before 
warm  weather,  although  they  may  then  be  the  chief  re- 
liance for  grazing,  hence  earlier  substitutes  should  be 
provided.  The  matter  of  pasture  or  pasture  substitutes 
should,  in  fact,  be  taken  in  hand  a  year  or  two  in  advance 
of  the  actual  need.     Blue  grass  and  alfalfa  are  naturally 


I/O  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

among  the  best  for  early  pasture.  Blue  grass  or  orchard 
grass  will  supply  green  feed  as  soon  as  the  snow  is  off. 
Alfalfa  is  on  hand  early  and  late  in  the  regions  where 
it  flourishes.  Rye,  in  its  territory,  sown  somewhat  early 
in  the  fall,  makes  an  excellent  substitute  for  grass  early 
the  following  spring.  For  a  quick-growing  crop  sowed 
in  the  spring  rape  is  probably  to  be  accorded  first  place, 
as  hogs  may  be  turned  in  on  it  when  it  is  a  foot  high, 
which  will  be  within  a  few  weeks  from  sowing. 

SUCCOTASH 

A  mixture  crop  may  be  used  to  good  advantage  for 
preliminary  pasturage.  A  sowing  of  ecjual  parts  wheat, 
oats  and  barley,  mixed,  with  the  addition  of  2  pounds 
of  rape  seed  to  the  acre,  supplies  good  spring  grazing. 
"Succotash"  is  a  term  applied  in  recent  years  to  various 
mixtures  sowed  together  and  designed  for  either  for- 
age or  soiling.  These  mixtures  admit  of  considerable 
range,  but  usually  consist  of  one  or  more  legumes,  one 
or  more  smaller  cereals,  and  corn.  Experiments  in  this 
line  have  not  been  extensive  enough  to  determine  what 
mixtures  would  be  standard  for  special  purposes,  and  at 
present  the  term  succotash  may  be  applied  to  any  mix- 
ture of  green  crops  for  live  stock  feeding. 

A  succotash  crop  may  be  purposely  shortlived,  and 
to  tide  over  an  emergency,  or  it  may  be  so  calculated  as 
to  return  two  soiling  crops,  with  a  moderate  grazing 
between  the  cuttings.  In  the  former  instance  it  will 
probably  be  grazed  off  closely,  and  its  usefulness  ended. 
When  it  is  some  crop  that  will  yield  a  growth  after  the 
first  cutting  the  mixture  should  not  be  of  such  varieties 


PASTURING    AND    SOILING  I7I 

tliat  the  rapid  gTOwth  of  one  will  smother  others  of  a 
slower  growth. 

The  Michigan  experiment  station  obtained  good  results 
with  succotash  crops  (Bulletin  No.  235).  It  was  found 
that  a  "succotash  mixture,  consisting  of  corn,  peas,  oats, 
rape  and  clover,  is  an  extremely  useful  combination  and 
that  it  can  be  produced  as  regularly  and  successfully  as 
any  other  crop  or  mixture  if  properly  treated.  Though 
the  first  attempt  was  to  use  this  mixture  as  a  forage  crop 
for  swine,  it  has  not  proved  so  valuable  for  that  pur- 
pose as  was  expected.  When  the  succotash  was  grazed 
off,  the  losses  were  heavy  from  the  trampling  and  wal- 
lowing of  the  animals ;  in  fact,  so  much  so  that  it  had 
to  be  hurdled  off,  giving  them  access  to  but  a  limited 
area  every  few  days,  and  this  is  a  somewhat  expensive 
and  troublesome  method.  When  cut,  hauled,  and  fed  in 
the  hogf  lots  or  pens  there  was  little  or  no.  loss.  Wlien 
the  rape  and  clover  were  bitten  off  close  to  the  ground 
by  hogs  many  plants  failed  to  grow  again ;  when  cut 
higher  with  a  scythe  they  did  not  fail  to  grow.  The 
composition  of  this  succotash  does  not  vary  greatly 
from  that  of  green  corn  in  the  earlier  stages  when 
used  for  soiling.  If  succotash  is  grown  to  any  great 
extent  for  soiling  purposes  it  should  be  sown  at  two 
or  three  different  dates,  the  first  late  in  April  or  early 
in  May,  the  others  following  at  intervals  of  ten  days  or 
two  weeks.  From  the  different  dates  of  seeding  some  one 
or  more  of  the  lots  is  almost  sure  to  produce  a  second 
growtla  suited  for  swine  pasture.  The  ability  to  secure  a 
crop  of  clover  on  the  same  ground  the  next  season  is  at 
present  uncertain,  but  is  well  worth  trying  for." 


172  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

GREEN   RYE   PASTURAGE 

Concerning  the  use  of  rye,  Thomas  Bennett,  an  Illi- 
nois hog-raiser  of  long  experience,  says:  "As  early  pas- 
turage for  hogs  my  experience  tells  me  that  there  is 
nothing  better  than  rye  in  Central  Illinois.  The  rye 
should  be  sowed  not  later  than  September  i,  if  possible. 
When  they  are  large  enough,  ring  the  pigs  and  turn  them 
on,  and  they  will  have  good  grazing  up  to  May  10  or  15 
following.  If  the  rye  should  become  too  rank  in  the 
latter  part  of  April,  turn  the  milk  cows  in  with  the 
hogs  and  keep  them  there  until  about  the  middle  of  May; 
then  take  everything  off  and  you  will  harvest  a  fair  crop 
of  rye.  As  soon  as  your  rye  is  harvested,  plow  the 
ground  and  sow  rye  as  before.  Your  land  becomes 
richer,  and  you  have  an  abundance  of  good  pasture.  It 
would  be  a  good  plan  to  have  a  patch  of  clover  to  turn 
the  hogs  on  when  taken  from  the  rye." 

The  late  I.  N.  Barker,  who  was  a  successful  Indiana 
breeder,  wrote :  "We  can  say  from  long  experience  that 
for  extra  early  pasturage  blue  grass  and  rye  make  the 
best  combination.  These  can  even  be  pastured  in  the 
winter  when  there  is  little  or  no  snow.  In  May  or  June 
clover  is  the  most  valuable  hog-pasture  we  ever  tried. 
After  rye  is  used  for  early  pasture  it  should  be  turned 
under  with  a  breaking  plow  about  May  15,  the  ground 
leveled  with  a  harrow  and  then  sown  in  rape  or  oats,  or 
both  together — we  prefer  them  sown  together — the  seed 
being  well  harrowed  in.  This  will  make  a  splendid  green 
tender  feed  when  the  clover  and  other  grasses  begin  to 
be  old  and  tough.     We  find  that  our  hogs  like  this  green 


PASTURING    AND    SOILING  I73 

oats  and  rape  in  midsummer  better  than  any  other  green 
feed  we  ever  prepared  for  them.  They  are  in  this  pas- 
ture early  and  late  and  thrive  on  it  remarkably  well.  It 
is  healthful  and  a  very  cheap  feed," 

RAPE 

The  Wisconsin  station  has  probably  made  more  tests 
of  rape  as  a  pasture  food  for  swine  than  have  been  un- 
dertaken elsewhere,  and  summing  them  all  up,  Prof. 
W.  L.  Carlyle,  who  was  in  charge,  says  they  seem  to 
warrant  the  following  conclusions : 

That  with  pigs  from  4  to  lo  months  old  representing 
the  various  breeds,  an  acre  of  rape,  properly  grown,  lias 
a  feeding  value,  when  combined  with  a  ration  of  corn 
and  shorts,  equivalent  to  2,436  pounds  of  a  mixture  of 
these  grain  feeds  and  a  money  value  of  $19.49  per  acre. 

That  rape  is  a  better  green  feed  for  growing  pigs  than 
good  clover  pasture,  the  pigs  fed  upon  the  rape  having 
made  on  the  average  100  pounds  of  gain  on  33.5  pounds 
less  grain  than  was  required  by  the  pigs  fed  upon  clover 
pasture. 

That  pigs  are  more  thrifty,  have  better  appetites  and 
make  correspondingly  greater  gains  when  supplied  with 
a  rape  pasture  in  conjunction  with  their  grain  feed  than 
when  fed  on  grain  alone. 

That  a  plat  of  Dwarf  Essex  (the  preferable  variety) 
forage  rape  when  planted  in  drills  30  inches  apart,  early 
in  May  in  Wisconsin,  will  yield  three  good  crops  of  pas- 
ture forage  in  a  favorable  season. 


174  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

That  rape  is  the  most  satisfactory  and  cheapest  green 
feed  for  swine  that  we  have  fed. 

That  every  feeder  of  hogs  in  Wisconsin  should  plant 
each  spring  a  small  field  of  rape  adjoining  his  hog  yard, 
and  provide  himself  with  a  few  rods  of  movable  fence, 
to  properly  feed  the  rape  to  lirood  sows  and  young  pigs. 

That  rape  should  be  sown  for  this  purpose  in  drills  30 
inches  apart  to  facilitate  the  stirring  of  the  ground  and 
cultivation  after  each  successive  growth  has  been  eaten 
off. 

That  hogs  should  not  be  turned  upon  a  rape  pasture 
until  the  plants  are  at  least  12  to  14  inches  high  and  that 
they  should  be  prevented  from  rooting  while  in  the  rape 
field. 

That  rape  alone  is  not  a  satisfactory  feed  when  it  is 
desired  to  have  any  live  weight  gain  made  in  hogs, 
though  it  has  been  found  that  they  will  just  about  main- 
tain themselves  without  loss  of  weight  on  rape. 

Rape  grows  rapidly;  it  may  be  sown  at  successive 
intervals  so  as  to  afford  continuous  pasturage  from  the 
first  of  June  until  frost  and  a  large  supply  of  food  from 
a  given  area.  Hogs  do  not  take  to  rape  readily  at  first, 
but  soon  acquire  a  taste  for  it  and  eat  it  freely.  It  has  an 
excellent  eft'ect  on  the  quality  of  the  product,  giving 
almost  invariably  a  firm  carcass.  Three  pounds  of  seed 
per  acre  give  a  very  good  stand,  if  the  seed  is  fresh  and 
of  good  quality.  If  the  rape  is  too  thin  on  the  ground  it 
grows  somewhat  coarse  in  texture  and  is  not  eaten  so 
readily. 

The  editor  of  the  Dakota  Farmer  says :  "Dwarf  Essex 
rape  is  a  godsend  to  the  northwestern  hog-grower;  it 


PASTURING    AND    SOILING  I75 

shoukl   be   found  on  every   farm,   and  where  anything 
\^■ill  grow  in  the  Dakotas  it  will  succeed." 

Professor  Henry  says  every  man  with  pigs  should 
have  rape  for  them.  "Provide  an  acre  of  rape  of  each 
2500  pounds  of  growing  pigs  that  are  to  ])e  fed  upon  it. 
As  soon  as  the  plants  are  a  foot  high  turn  in  the  pigs. 
They  will  greedily  eat  the  leaves,  and  gain  al)out  enough 
nourishment  to  support  their  bodies,  and  this  being  true 
all  the  extra  feed  will  go  for  gain.  Corn,  middlings,  etc., 
should  be  fed  with  the  rape.  A  great  advantage  of  rape 
feeding  is  that  it  keeps  the  digestive  tract  expanded 
and  in  healthful  condition.  Pigs  fed  rape  fatten  quickly 
and  very  cheaply.  Sow  none  but  the  Dwarf  Essex, 
Many  farmers  have  bought  oil  rape  seed  or  bird  seed 
rape,  and  the  crop  proved  a  failure.  Sow  two  or  three 
pounds  per  acre  when  drilled  and  four  or  five  pounds 
broadcasted.  Exery  ])ig  raiser  who  has  not  yet  tried 
rape  is  urged  to  do  so." 

A  PORTABLE  BOARD  FENCE 

A  simple  portable  fence  is  made  with  panels  12  or  16 
feet  long  of  four  ix6-inch  boards.  Commencing  at  the 
bottom,  the  first  two  boards  are  placed  6  inches  apart, 
while  the  third  and  top  ones  may  be  7  inches  apart.  The 
boards  are  hekl  in  place  by  ix4-inch  slats,  one  placed 
6  inches  from  either  end  and  the  other  placed  in  the 
center.  The  bottom  piece  of  the  triangle  which  is  to 
support  the  hurdle  is  3  feet  6  inches  long  and  made  of 
ix6-inch  stuff.  In  the  center  of  this  piece  is  cut  a 
notch  3  inches  deep  and  2  inches  wide.    The  sides  of  the 


ijG 


SWINE   IN    AMERICA 


Iriangle  are  made  of  ix4-inch  pieces  4  feet  long,  with 
a  notch  corresponding  to  the  one  in  the  baseboard  cnt 
in  tlie  top.  This  fence  is  hog--proof,  is  easily  and  cheaply 
constructed,  will  not  blow  over,  and  is  easily  transporteil 
from  place  to  place. 


r 

~ " 

"p 

1 

1 

L 

J 

C 

=1 

A   MOVABLE   PANELED   HOG   FENCE. 


COWPEAS 

The  cowpea  is  described  as  being  to  the  South  what 
alfalfa  is  to  the  West  and  red  clover  to  the  North — a 
forage  plant  well  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  region — 
and  esteemed  among  the  best  of  crops  for  grazing  and 
soiling.  By  a  judicious  selection  of  varieties,  fields  ready 
for  use  can  be  had  from  midsummer  until  cold  weather, 
and  a  good  part  of  what  is  needed  for  this  purpose  can 
be  grown  as  a  "catch  crop"  without  interference  with 
the  regular  crops  grown  on  the  same  ground.  This  is 
especially  so  when  they  are  grown  between  corn  rows, 
being  planted  when  the  corn  is  "laid  l)y"  and  grazed 
after  ihe  corn  is  gathered.  Probably  one-half  of  the 
cowpeas  grown  in  the  southern  states  are  grown  and 
grazed  in  this  way,  and  are  regarded  as  providing  the 
best  possible  pasture  for  swine.  When  pastured,  the 
droppings  from  the  animals  return  nearly  all  of  the 
fertilizing  elements  of  the  crop  to  the  soil,  and  benefit 


PASTURING    AND    SOILING  I77 

the  field  nearly  as  much  as  though  the  entire  crop  were 
plowed  under  as  a  green  manure.  The  meat  and  milk 
produced  represent  clear  profit.  The  crop  does  not  bear 
continuous  grazing,  still  it  gives  abundant  feed  for  a 
month  or  six  weeks,  and  b}^  arranging  a  succession  of 
fields,   good   pasture   may   be   provided   during   several 


POD   OF    COWPEA. 

months.  More  actual  feetl  is  produced  with  less  waste 
per  acre  when  the  vines  are  cut  or  pulled  for  soiling,  for 
which  cowpeas  are  a  standard  crop  in  the  southern  states 
wherever  soiling  is  practiced.  Bulletin  No.  100  of  the 
Mississippi  station  says  that  tliere  cowpeas  for  hog 
pasture,  without  grain,  have  given  better  results  than 
any  other  crop.  In  one  test  the  crop  was  grown  on  thin 
hill  land,   where  one  acre   of   cowpeas   produced   350 


178  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

pounds  of  pork.  In  another  test  on  rich  valley  land  one 
acre  of  cowpeas  produced  483  pounds  of'  pork.  The 
hogs  were  turned  into  the  field  when  the  peas  were  about 
ripe.  Cowpeas  do  well  sown  as  far  north  as  Central 
Illinois. 


SAND  OR  HAIRY  VETCH. 
SAND  \T5TCHES 

A  writer  who  claims  to  know  says  southern  farmers 
who  are  raising  swine,  and  want  "the  best,  most  nourish- 
ing and  quickest-growing  pastures,  should  sow,  just  be- 
fore wheat-sowing  time  in  the  fall,  sand  vetches  mixed 
with  rye.  The  hogs  may  be  turned  on  this  when  it  has 
made  a  5-inch  growth,  and  it  will  afford  good  pasture 
throughout  the  winter  if  not  too  closely  eaten  down." 


PASTURING    AND    SOILING  1/9 

PASTURING  ON  STUBBLE  FIELDS 

Occasior.ally  a  farmer  thinks  it  economy  to  turn  his 
swine,  for  gleaning  purposes,  on  a  grain  stubble  field 
where  there  is  a  stand  of  young  grass  or  clover  started. 

In  commenting  upon  such  a  practice,  L.  N.  Bonham  of 
Butler  county,  Ohio,  has  said :  "We  have  always  con- 
sidered turning  stock  onto  the  young  clover  and  tim- 
othy after  grain  harvest  a  losing  business.  The  sooner 
the  pasturing  begins  the  worse  for  the  coming  crop.  The 
}'oung  stuff  has  not  yet  firmly  rooted  and  is  heavily 
taxed  by  heat  and  drought  and  much  of  it  will  perish  if 
the  weather  is  unfavorable.  In  its  feeble  condition  the 
extra  tax  of  trampling  and  grazing  will  destroy  much 
more.  With  young  plants,  as  young  animals,  we  need  to 
lend  a  helping  hand  to  insure  the  best  growth.  There 
is  no  profit  in  runts.  The  young  clover  and  grass  in 
the  stubble  fields  are  not  there  for  tiding  over  the  stock 
this  season,  but  to  fill  barns  next  year  with  abun- 
dance, and  what  is  of  far  more  importance  to  the  future 
of  the  farm,  to  fill  the  soil  with  a  lusty  growth  of  roots 
that  may  feed  coming  crops.  If  one  is  compelled  to  pas- 
ture the  stubble  fields  in  which  young  grass  and  clover 
ha\e  started,  the  damage  is  much  less  if  stock  is  kept  off 
until  there  is  a  good  bite,  the  young  plants  are  more 
lirmly  rooted,  and  the  fall  rains  have  carried  them  over 
the  trying  period  that  follows  harvest.  There  is  more 
lost  than  gained  by  pasturing  stubble  fields  set  to  grass 
and  clover." 


l8o  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

ROTATION  OF  PASTURAGE 

The  question  of  early  pasturage  is  really  involved  in 
a  much  broader  one — that  of  the  proper  rotation  of  pas- 
ture crops.  A  comparatively  limited  area  will  grow  all 
the  green  feed  that  hogs  can  utilize,  and  it  is  of  much 
greater  importance  to  know  how  to  supply  economically 
such  feed  continuously  through  as  much  of  the  year  as 
the  climate  will  permit  than  to  furnish  a  large  quantity 
at  one  period  and  scant,  woody  grazing  a  little  later,  A 
well-arranged  rotation  will  involve  some  additional  ex- 
pense and  labor,  but  where  hogs  are  raised  in  numbers, 
the  better  condition  and  growth,  especially  of  breeding 
animals,  and  the  saving  in  the  more  costly  feeds  will 
f)rove  an  ample  recompense. 

Professor  W.  M.  Hays,  when  connected  with  the  Min- 
nesota experiment  station,  gave  considerable  attention  to 
discovering  the  best  system  of  pasture-crop  rotation, 
and  has  presented  the  most  sensible  plan  so  far  worked 
out,  at  least  for  the  northern  section  of  the  United 
States.  It  gives,  as  he  expressed  it,  "an  outline  of  how 
land  can  be  used  for  continuous  hog  pastures : 

"The  land  is  divided  into  four  fields  and  fenced  hog- 
tight.  If  practicable,  a  lane  connects  the  hog-house  with 
each  of  the  four  fields,  and  small  inexpensive  hog-houses 
or  hog  shades  in  the  field  are  almost  necessary.  Some  of 
these  may  be  portable.  Such  small  fields,  4x10  rods,  may 
seem  ridiculous,  but  most  farmers  have  more  than  an 
acre  for  their  hogs,  and  this  plan  will  apply  even  if  there 
are  80  acres  devoted  to  growing  hog  pasture. 

"Figuring  out  rotation  is  a  little  like  a  game  of  chess, 
but  it  can  be  learned,  as  my  classes  in  field  crops  and  field 


PASTURING    AND    SOILING 


i8i 


nianag-ement  have  fully  demonstrated.  The  worst  diffi- 
culty arises  from  the  habit  of  the  farm  boys  to  see  things 
only  as  the}-  have  been  before  their  eyes  from  birth,  and 
with  the  fathers  there  is  even  more  difficulty.  Instead 
of  the  present  lack  of  system  in  crop  rotation,  formal 
plans  ma}'  be  devised,  permitting  the  fields  to  be  managed 
systematically. 

"The  problem  is  simplified  by  a  chart  in  which  each 
year's  crops  are  shown  on  each  field,  which  has  a  given 
number  or  name.     Thus,  in  Table  I  herewith,  the  upper 

TABLE  I — FOUR-YEAR  ROTATION  FOR  HOG  PASTURAGE 


Field  A 

Field  B 

Field  C 

Field  D 

First 
year 

Wheat 
clover. 

Clover. 

Oats  and 
peas;  rye. 

Rye;  fodder 
com;  rape. 

Second 
year. 

Clover. 

Oats  and 
peas;  rye. 

Rye;  fodder 
com;  rape. 

Grain ; 
clover. 

Third 
year. 

Oats  and 
peas;  rye. 

Rye;  fodder 
com;  rape 

Grain ; 
clover. 

Clover. 

Fourth 
year. 

Rve;  fodder 
corn;  rape. 

Grain ; 
clover. 

Clover. 

Oats  and 
peas;  rape. 

left-hand  square  or  section  represents  Field  A,  and 
the  word  'wheat'  shows  that  this  field  is  seeded  to 
wheat  in  1903  (the  first  year),  clover  and  timothy 
being  sown  with  the  wheat.  Next  below  is  the  same 
field  in  1904  (the  second  year  of  the  rotation),  when 
there  is  clover  pasturage ;  following  on  the  same  field  we 
have  in  1905  oats  and  peas  pastured  off  and  the  land 
seeded  to  rye;  and  in  1906  the  rye  is  pastured  off  early, 
a  crop  of  corn  pasture  is  grown,  and.  following  this,  rape 
scetled  with  the  corn  makes  some  la<^e  fall  feed. 


1 82 


SWINE   IN    AMERICA 


"In  the  next  column  the  same  rotation  is  outhned  on 
Field  B,  but  the  clover  comes  a  year  earlier,  having  been 
seeded  down  with  grain  in  1902.  It  will  be  observed  thr.t 
grain  comes  on  Field  B  in  1906,  with  which  to  sow  clover 
for  pasture  in  1907,  and  that  each  of  the  four  fields  in 
the  rotation  is  kept  in  a  regular  course,  each  doing  its 
part  in  producing  each  kind  of  crop  in  its  turn.  On  Field 
C,  in  like  manner,  the  same  rotation  prevails,  each  crop 
coming  a  year  earlier  than  in  the  field  before,  grain 
having  been  grown  here  in  1901  and  clover  seeded  with 
it.  Again,  in  Field  D,  rye,  fodder  corn  and  rape  come  in 
1903,  the  wheat  and  clover  having  been  sown  in  1900. 

"The  chart  marks  out  a  four-year  period  beginning 
with  (say)  1903,  the  earliest  year  when  all  the  changes 
preliminary  to  introducing  the  full  course  will  have  been 
completed.      During   the    preceding   three   A^ears,    1900, 

TABLE    II SEVEN-YEAR    ROTATION    FOR    HOG    PASTURAGE, 

SHOWING    PRELIMINARY    YEARS 


Field  A 

Field  B 

Field  C 

Field  D 

First 
year. 

Oats  and 
peas;  rape. 

Oats  and 
peas;  rye. 

Rye;  fodder 
corn;  rape. 

Oats; 

clover. 

Second 
year. 

Oats  and 
peas;  rye. 

Rye;  fodder 
corn;  rape. 

Wheat; 
clover. 

Clover. 

Third 
year. 

Rye;  fodder 
corn;  rape. 

Wheat; 
clover. 

Clover. 

Oat.s  and 
peas;  rye. 

Fourth 
year. 

Wheat; 
clover. 

Clover. 

Oats  and 
peas;  r\-c. 

R>-;  fodder 
corn;  rape. 

Fifth 
year. 

Clover. 

Oats  and 
peas;  rye. 

Rve;  fodder 
corn;  rape. 

Wheat; 
clover. 

Sixth 
year. 

Oats  and 
peas;   rye. 

Rye;  fodder 
corn;   rape. 

Wheat; 
clover. 

Clover. 

Seventh 
year. 

Rye;  fodder 
corn;   rape. 

Wheat; 

Clover. 

Oats  and 
peas;  rye. 

PASTURIiXG    AND    SOILING 


183 


lyoi,  and  1902,  the  ticlcls  can  be  g-otten  ready  for  the 
final  plan.  Table  II  shows  how  the  crops  on  each  field 
dnring  the  years  1900,  1901  and  1902  can  be  filled  in, 
that  the  regular  rotation  may  be  fully  entered  upon  on 
all  the  fields  in  1903. 

TABLE     III — FIVE-YEAR     ROTATION     FOR     SUPPLYING     HOG 
PASTURAGE 


Field  A 

Field  B 

Field  C 

Field  D 

Field  E 

First 
year. 

Grain ; 
clover. 

Clover. 

Clover; 
corn;  rye. 

Rve;    com; 
rape. 

Oats  and 
peas;  rape. 

Second 
year. 

Clover. 

Clover; 
com;  rye. 

Rye;   com; 
rape. 

Oats  and 
peas;  rape. 

Third 
year. 

Clover; 
com;  rye. 

Rye;c„rn; 
rape. 

Oats  and 
peas;  rape 

Grain; 

clover. 

Clover. 

Fourth 
year. 

Rye;  com; 
rape. 

Oats  and  Peas 
rape. 

Grain; 

Clover. 

Clover; 
corn;  r\e. 

Fifth 
year. 

Oats  and 
peas;  rape. 

Grain ; 
clover. 

Clover. 

Clover; 
corn ;  rye. 

Rye;  coin; 
rape. 

"In  Table  III  a  five-year  rotation  supplying  hog-pas- 
tures is  shown  ;  in  Table  I V^,  a  three-year  rotation  ;  and  in 
Table  V.  a  two-year  rotation.  Still  other  arrangements 
may  be  devised  to  suit  different  numbers  of  fields  and 
different   crops  and   conditions.      The  effort   should   be 


TABLE    IV — THREE-YEAR    ROTATION    FOR    SUPPLYING    HOG 
PASTURAGE 


Field  A 

Field  B 

Field  C 

First 
year. 

Oats; 

cl<.ver. 

Clover. 

Oats; 
clover. 

Second 
year. 

Clover. 

Oats  and 
peas;  rape. 

Clover. 

Third 
year. 

Oats  and 
I.eas;  rape 

Oats 
clover 

Oats  and 
peas;  rape. 

184  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

to  get  a  good  yield  of  really  succulent  pasturage  through- 
out every  month  of  the  year.  The  crops  should  be  so 
combined  that  the  soil  is  prepared  for  each  crop  by  the 
crop  that  precedes  it.  \M-ieat  or  oats  may  be  made  to 
yield  some  grain,  while  serving  as  a  nurse  crop.  Rye, 
pastured  off,  makes  a  better  nurse  crop  than  wheat,  if 
care  be  used  in  'pasturing  it  off  that  the  clover  be  not 

TABLE  V — TWO-YEAR  ROTATION  FOR  HOG  PASTURAGE 


Field  A 

Field  B 

First 
year. 

Second 
year. 

Rye;  fodder  com 
rape. 

Oats  and  peas 
rye 

Oats  and  peas; 
rye. 

Rye;  fodder  com; 
rape. 

killed  out  by  too  close  or  late  pasturing,  or  by  the  root- 
ing of  the  hogs.  Rye  or  winter  wheat  allowed  to  ma- 
ture for  grain  is  rather  a  better  nurse  crop  than  spring 
wheat. 

"The  farmer  who  will  undertake  to  grow  a  succession 
of  succulent  crops  for  hog  pasturage  will  the  sooner 
(earn  the  general  principles  of  crop  rotation  as  applied 
to  the  general  lields  of  the  farm,  and  will  be  ready  to 
study  out  a  better  system  of  cropping  his  larger  fields. 
Paper,  pencil  and  ruler  and  the  ability  to  make  straight 
lines  are  the  essentials  in  making  out  these  plans.  Be- 
sides, the  area  and  form  of  the  fields  need  to  be  known. 
With  a  rod-pole  or  a  tape  line,  or  even  by  counting  the 
fence  posts,  the  dimensions  of  the  fields  can  be  deter- 
mined.    An  accurate  drawing  or  map  of  the  farm  is  a 


PASTURING    AND    SOILING  1 85 

most  convenient  piece  of  information  in  managing  the 
crops.  P"our-year  rotation  requires  four  fields ;  a  three- 
year  rotation  three  fields;  a  two-year  rotation  two  fields." 
The  suggestions  made  by  Professor  Hays,  while  spec- 
ially adapted  to  the  more  northern  latitude  so  far  as  the 
illustrations  of  rotatrons  go,  may  be  studied  witn  profit 
and  turned  to  account  by  a  hog-raiser  in  any  part  of 
the  world,  adapting,  of  course,  the  changes  in  crops  to 
his  individual  situation.  The  man  who  will  do  this  intel- 
ligently will  gradually  find,  as  Professor  Hays  has  inti- 
mated, a  wider  knowledge  of  the  uses  of  crops  and  in 
addition  a  better  success. 

ROOTING  AND  RINGING 

Nothing  is  more  natural  than  for  -swine  to  root,  but  if 
the  owner  keeps  his  pastures  and  meadows  with  an  even, 
unscarred  surface  while  ranged  by  hogs,  it  must  be  large- 
ly by  the  help  of  rings  in  the  hogs'  noses.  There  is  no 
quicker  way  to  destroy  the  even  and  compact  sward  of 
a  permanent  pasture  than  to  give  the  brood  sows  and  fat- 
tening hogs  the  run  of  such  a  field  with  their  noses  free 
when  the  land  is  soft  from  continued  rains.  If  the  whole 
field  is  not  turned  they  will  soon  work  the  softest  parts 
into  holes  and  a  broken  and  uneven  surface  that  can 
hardly  be  leveled  again  except  by  cultivation.  Without 
doubt  there  is  too  much  ringing  done  by  some  farmers, 
and  this  especially  of  the  early  spring  pigs  when  they  go 
out  to  pasture.  Before  turning  out,  some  farmers  think 
they  must  ring  every  pig  with  a  nose  large  enough  to 
hold  a  ring.  Much  of  this  is  unnecessary,  if  the  hogs 
are  healthy  and  the  fields  in  the  condition  they  should  be. 


l86  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

Fields  properly  drained  will  not  be  rooted  as  badly  as 
those  having  wet  spots.  The  hogs  will  root  first  in  the 
wet  spots  and  continue  in  these  the  longest. 

John  M.  Jamison,  a  well-known  agricultural  writer  of 
Ross  county,  Ohio,  writes  most  intelligently  about  these 
matters  in  the  Ohio  Farmer,  from  which  the  following 
is  quoted:  "It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  hog  roots 
to  meet  the  wants  of  his  system,  which  he  supplies  by 
worms  and  insects  found  in  the  soil.  It  is  also  claimed 
that  these  wants  can  be  met  by  a  variety  of  foods  and 
condiments — the  various  grains,  roots  and  fruits,  with  a 
constant  supply  of  wood  ashes  and  salt.  Our  experience 
is  in  accord  with  this  claim. 

"Many  farmers  ring  the  early  spring  pigs  when  they 
are  turned  onto  the  clover  fields.  We  think  this  is  un- 
necessary; we  have  not  done  it  for  years,  and  have  had 
but  little  injury  to  our  pastures  resulting  from  the  free 
noses.  In  the  fall  we  aim  to  have  the  hogs  on  the  market 
before  the  fall  rains  soften  the  fields.  When  not  able  to 
do  this  we  lot  them  for  a  short  time  till  sold. 

"We  believe  it  desirable  to  avoid  ringing  whenever 
possible,  for  the  practice  must  in  some  degree  interfere 
with  the  thrift  of  the  animals.  The  young  pig  is  checked 
in  growth  for  a  few  days  till  the  wound  heals ;  the  older 
hog  also  is  off  feed  to  some  extent  for  a  few  days.  When 
there  is  cholera  in  the  neighborhood  rings  should  not 
be  set,  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  disease  germs  find 
lodgment  in  the  wounds,  when  perhaps  without  ringing 
the  herd  would  escape. 

"Much  can  be  said  as  to  the  manner  of  ringing  and  the 
kind  of  rings  used.     In  many  cases  there  is  unnecessary 


PASTURING   AND    SOILING  .I87 

cruelty  practiced  in  setting  too  many  rings  and  setting 
them  too  deep.  Tliere  are  numerous  devices,  patented 
and  otherwise,  for  holding  the  animals.  We  have  never 
used  a  cage  of  any  kind,  for  the  reason  that  we  thought 
it  more  trouble  to  adjust  the  cage  to  the  different  sizes 
than  to  catch  the  animals  with  a  small  rope  looped  at  one 
end  and  slipped  into  the  mouth  and  over  the  nose;  to 
ha.e  the  rope  hold  well  it  should  be  put  back  of  the  tusks, 
otherwise  it  will  slip  off  when  the  hog  pulls  back  on  it. 

"When  we  ring  young  hogs,  we  do  not  have  much 
trouble  in  snaring  them,  but  the  brood  sows  that  must 
have  their  rings  set  two  or  three  times  a  year  become 
quite  cunning,  and  will  dodge  the  loop  very  successfully. 
When  we  ha\e  this  work  to  do  we  drive  the  hogs  into  a 
box  stall,  where  there  is  no  possibility  of  escape ;  when 
they  crowd  into  a  corner  an  active  person  can  catch  them 
without  much  trouble.  It  is  much  easier  to  drive  them 
into  a  stable  or  shed  that  they  are  accustomed  to  than  to 
coax  or  drive  them  into  a  pen  built  on  purpose  for  these 
few  minutes  of  torture.  The  rope  that  they  are  caught 
with  should  have  a  short  stick  tied  to  one  end  for  a  han- 
dle to  hold  them  with,  and  when  the  animals  are  large 
and  strong  we  find  it  a  saving  of  muscle  when  the  animal 
is  caught  to  put  the  rope  around  a  post;  the  animal  will 
stand  better  when  pulling  at  the  post,  that  does  not  give. 

"In  placing  the  rings  care  should  be  taken  to  set  them 
t irmly  but  not  too  deep:  if  set  so  deep  as  to  bind  or  pinch 
the  muscles  inside  the  ring,  they  will  always  be  an  annoy- 
ance to  the  animal.  Some  men  take  vengeance  on  their 
hogs,  it  would  appear,  by  setting  the  rings  as  deeply  as 
possible,  causing  all  the  pain  they  can ;  in  such  instances 


l88  SWIXI-:    IX    AMERICA 

vengeance  comes  back  with  interest  compounded.  A  ring 
should  not  be  set  in  the  center  of  the  nose,  as  it  will  pull 
out  much  easier  than  if  set  somewhat  on  one  side. 

"Except  for  old  brood  sows,  one  ring  will  usually  be 
found  sufficient;  if  one  will  answer  the  purpose,  two  only 
add  to  the  annoyance  of  the  animal,  which  is  against 
thrift.  The  kind  of  a  ring  used  has  much  to  do  with  ac- 
complishing the  purpose  without  unnecessary  suffering 
or  annoyance.  A  ring  that  closes  with  the  joint  in  the 
nose  should  never  be  used.  We  remember  seeing,  some 
years  ago,  at  a  railroad  station,  a  lot  of  hogs  brought 
in  for  shipment.  They  had  every  appearance  of  being 
out  of  condition,  and  no  doubt  were  sold  because  they 
were  not  thriving.  Every  one  had  a  single  ring  set  in  the 
center  of  the  nose,  with  joint  in  the  flesh,  and  every  nose 
was  sore — a  fact  that  the  owner  had  failed  to  observe. 

"Recently  we  saw  a  lot  of  thrifty  young  hogs,  all 
having  two  rings  in  their  noses.  We  were  a  little  sur- 
prised, as  we  seldom  used  rings  on  hogs  of  that  size,  and 
expressed  ourselves  in  that  way  to  the  owner.  He  replied 
that  he  thought  they  thrived  better  if  not  allowed  to  root. 
On  this  point  we  could  hardly  agree  with  him.  Nor  did 
we  think  two  rings  were  necessary  when  one  would  an- 
swer the  purpose.  However,  these  were  carefully  set,  and 
would  turn  in  the  noses,  the  wounds  having  healed  as 
they  always  should,  if  the  animal  is  to  thrive. 

"It  is  our  belief  that  on  farms  well  underdrained  and 
where  the  hogs  are  fed  a  variety  ration,  and  have  salt 
and  wood  ashes  always  by  them,  a  great  deal  of  the  ring- 
ing can  be  left  undone.  But  where  hogs  have  only  corn 
for  food  they  are  as  sure  to  root  when  the  ground  is 


PASTURING    AND    SOILING  igg 

soft  as  they  are  to  'wallow  in  the  mire'  when  the  weather 
IS  warm.  Because  the  latter  is  a  natural  propensity 
we  need  not  accept  the  same  as  a  truth  as  regards  the 
former,  for  there  is  much  to  show  that  the  farmer 
can  to  some  extent  control  the  natural  disposition  to  root, 
without  resorting  to  heroic  means." 


CHAPTER  X. 

Alfalfa  for  Swine 

No  community  with  high-class  swine  prominent  in  its 
husbandry  is  poor.  No  community  with  large  areas  of 
alfalfa  can  afford  to  neglect  swine  husbandry,  for  its  peo- 
ple possess  the  material  for  economical  pork  production 
equaled  by  no  others.  Those  who  know  it  best  are  per- 
suaded that  alfalfa  will  grow,  with  varying  degrees  of 
thrift  to  be  sure,  in  every  one  of  the  United  States  and  in 
Canada.  Hence  it  is  not  a  misstatement  to  say.  speaking 
generally,  that  the  American  farmer  without  alfalfa  is 
so  through  his  own  fault  rather  than  through  any  fault 
of  location,  latitude,  longitude,  altitude,  precipitation  or 
temperature.  These  premises  being  correct,  it  would 
seem  almost  self-evident  that  he  who  would  rear  swine 
to  the  best  advantage  should  have  alfalfa,  and.  con- 
versely, the  man  with  alfalfa  fields  is  provided  with  a 
part  of  an  excellent  equipment  for  profitable  swine-grow- 
ing-. Either  interest  which  is  a  stranger  to  the  other 
should  take  early  opportunity  for  a  mutual  acquaintance. 

HOGS  WILL  EAT   HAY 

In  the  preceding  chapter  it  was  stated  that  alfalfa 
is  a  valuable  pasture  or  soiling  crop  for  pigs.  It  is 
equally  true  that  they  will  with  great  relish  actually  eat 
alfalfa  hay.  "A  hog  is  not  usually  ranked  as  a  hay-eat- 
ing animal,  but  an  exception  must  be  made  as  to  his 
eating  alfalfa  hay."  says  "The  Book  of  Alfalfa."*     As 

*"The  Book  of  Alfalfa."     Orange  Judd  Company,  New  York.  344  pp. 
190 


ALFALFA    FOR    SWINE  I9I 

a  pasture  or  soiling  crop  for  sows  and  young  pigs,  al- 
falfa proves  a  wonderfully  helpful  ration  for  niilk- 
niaking  in  the  sow  and  for  growth  in  the  pigs.  Experi- 
ments have  shown  that  pigs  make  better  growth  when 
the  dam  is  fed  considerable  alfalfa  than  those  from 
sows  fed  the  best  of  commercial  rations  but  with  no 
alfalfa.  Of  two  sets  of  pigs,  one  fed  clover,  rape  and 
soaked  corn,  and  the  other  with  access  to  alfalfa  in  lieu 
of  clover  and  rape,  those  having  the  alfalfa  seemed  to 
grow  the  more  rapidly.  For  brood  sows  it  is  a  most 
valuable  food,  either  as  hay,  a  soiling  crop,  or  as  pasture. 
The  litters  of  such  sows  are  generally  large  and  vigorous 
and  the  dams  have  a  strong  flow  of  nutritious  milk.  Al- 
falfa meal  in  slop  may  be  used  with  profit  where  the  hay 
is  not  to  be  obtained.  It  is  also  claimed  that  sows  fed  on 
alfalfa  during  pregnancy  will  not  devour  their  young, 
its  mineral  elements  seeming-  to  satisfy  the  appetite  of  the 
sow,  while  contributing  to  the  fetal  development  of 
the  pigs. 

On  a  farm  of  former  Governor  Hoard,  in  Jefferson 
county,  Wisconsin,  all  the  Ijrood  sows  have  for  several 
years  been  wintered  on  alfalfa  hay  of  the  season's 
third  cutting,  and  their  drink  (skim  milk  from  the 
dairy),  without  any  grain  until  the  last  two  weeks  of 
gestation.  Mr.  Hoard  says  the  object  is  to  give  the  sows 
a  food  that  will  keep  them  in  a  non-feverish  state  and 
furnish  protein  sufficient  to  l)uild  the  bodies  of  the  forth- 
coming pigs. 

"It  was  a  matter  of  experiment  at  first,  our  only  guide 
beine  the  knowledge  and  reason  we  could  exercise  from 


192  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

what  we  knew,  or  thought  we  knew,  of  the  philosophy  of 
gestation.  The  experiment  proved  to  be  a  success  from 
the  first.  The  sows  went  through  their  work  in  fine  con- 
dition, giving  milk  abundantly.  The  pigs  came  with 
splendid  vitality,  thus  reducing  our  losses  from  early 
deaths  fully  30  per  cent  below  what  they  had  previously 
been.  The  hay  is  fed  dry  and  thrown  into  the  pen  on 
the  feeding  floor  without  any  cutting  or  chaffing  what- 
ever. We  have  sometimes  thought  we  would  try  the  ex- 
periment of  cutting  it  into  half-inch  lengths  and  moisten- 
ing it.  Possibly  it  would  take  less  hay  in  this  way.  The 
sows  keep  in  good  flesh,  fully  as  much  so  as  we  like." 

A  Finney  county  (Kansas)  farmer  reports  having 
pastured  30  pigs  on  one  acre  of  alfalfa  from  May  ist  to 
September  ist,  when  they  weighed  100  pounds  each  and 
were  in  fine  condition  for  fattening.  Another  Kansas 
farmer  reports  keeping  100  pigs  from  about  the  middle 
of  April  to  September  on  five  acres  of  alfalfa  pasture.  A 
little  grain  during  the  last  two  months  would  have  gained 
him  many  pounds  of  pork.  Many  alfalfa  raising  pig- 
growers  insist  that  their  pigs  can  be  maintained  from 
May  to  October  on  alfalfa  for  one-half  what  it  would 
cost  for  almost  any  other  feed. 

The  Utah  station  found  that  young  shotes  gained  one- 
third  pound  a  day  on  alfalfa  pasture  without  grain.  But 
the  station  found  also  that  the  gain  was  not  so  great  in 
older  hogs.  A  Wisconsin  dairyman  reported  that  he 
kept  nine  sows  all  winter  and  spring  on  alfalfa  hay  and 
skim  milk,  without  any  grain,  and  raised  from  them  75 
pigs,  all  healthy  and  vigorous. 


ALFALFA    FOR    SWINE  I93 

The  Colorado  station  considers  that  a  ration  of  three- 
fourths  corn  and  one- fourth  alfalfa  hay  is  the  best  for 
fattening  hogs  for  market,  but  for  young  hogs  not  ready 
for  fattening  the  proportions  should  be  reversed.  The 
station  does  not  recommend  grinding  alfalfa  hay  for 
hogs,  probably  on  tlie  theory  that  the  hog's  time  is  not 
worth  much  at  best,  and  he  can  do  his  own  grinding. 

A  VALUABLE  KANSAS  TEST 

The  Kansas  station  has  made  a  series  of  experiments 
of  interest  to  feeders  everywhere.  It  was  to  determine 
the  value  of  alfalfa  hay  fed  to  fattening  hogs  that  were 
receiving  all  the  grain  they  would  eat.  The  results  are 
related  here  in  the  language  of  the  bulletin : 

"The  hogs  fed  in  this  experiment  were  bought  of 
farmers,  and  averaged  in  weight  125  pounds  each.  They 
were  placed  in  lots  of  ten  each,  in  large  pens,  having  for 
shelter  some  sheds  open  to  the  south.  The  alfalfa  hay 
used  was  of  the  best  quality,  carefully  cured.  Black- 
hulled  white  Kafir-corn  was  the  grain  used,  the  hogs 
being  fed  all  they  would  eat  without  waste.  The  hay 
was  fed  dry  in  forkfuls  in  a  large  flat  trough.  The  hogs 
were  given  more  than  they  could  eat,  and  they  picked 
out  the  leaves  and  finer  stems,  rejecting  the  coarser 
stems.  One  lot  of  hogs  was  fed  Kafir-corn  meal  dry 
and  alfalfa  hay;  one  lot  whole  Kafir-corn  dry;  one  lot 
Kafir-corn  meal  dry,  and  one  lot  Kafir-corn  meal  wet. 

'The  experiment  began  on  November  24  and  lasted 
nine  weeks.  By  that  time  the  alfalfa-fed  hogs  became 
well  fattened,  and  were  marketed.     We  estimated  that 


194  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

it  would  require  four  to  five  weeks  additional  feeding, 
with  ordinary  weather,  to  get  the  hogs  that  were  fed 
grain  alone  into  good  marketable  condition. 

"The  gains  in  nine  weeks  from  the  different  methods 
of  feeding  were  as  follows : 

Gains  per  hog 
in  pounds 

Kafir-corn  meal  dry  and  alfalfa  hay 90.9 

Kafir-corn  whole 59.4 

Kafir-corn  meal  fed  dry 52.4 

Kafir-corn  meal  fed  wet 63.3 

"The  gain  from  feeding  alfalfa  hay  with  Kafir-corn 
meal  fed  dry,  over  the  meal  alone  fed  dry,  is  more  than 
y},  per  cent. 

"The  gains  per  bushel  of  feed  were  as  follows : 

Pounds 
Kafir-corn  meal  dry  and  7.83  pounds  alfalfa  hay.  .  10.88 

Kafir-corn  whole    8.56 

Kafir-corn  meal  fed  dry   7.48 

Kafir-corn  meal  fed  wet   8.09 

"Ten  hogs  in  nine  weeks  were  fed  656  pounds  of 
alfalfa  hay;  and  as  shown  above,  for  each  7.83  pounds 
of  alfalfa  hay  fed  with  the  dry  Kafir-corn  meal,  the  hogs 
gained  3.4  pounds  over  those  having  dry  Kafir-corn 
meal  alone — a  gain  of  868  pounds  of  pork  per  ton  of 
alfalfa  hay.  These  results  are  not  due  to  the  feeding 
value  of  the  alfalfa  alone,  but  also  to  its  influence  in 
aiding  the  hogs  to  better  digest  the  Kafir-corn.  The 
alfalfa  hay  also  gave  a  variety  to  the  ration,  making  it 
more  appetizing  and  inducing  the  hogs  to  eat  more  grain. 


ALFALFA    FOR    SWINE  I95 

The  ten  hogs  having-  grain  alone  ate  3,885  pounds  of 
dry  Kafir-corn  meal,  while  the  ten  hogs  having  hay  and 
grain  ate  4,679  pounds  of  the  Kafir-corn  meal  and  656 
pounds  of  alfalfa  hay.  The  hay-fed  hogs  ate  more  grain 
and  gained  more  for  each  hushel  eaten. 

"In  a  former  experiment  pigs  were  pastured  through 
the  summer  on  alfalfa  with  a  light  feeding  of  corn. 
After  deducting  the  prohable  gain  from  the  corn,  the 
gain  per  acre  from  the  alfalfa  pasture  was  776  pounds 
of  pork. 

"These  facts  indicate  that  to  produce  pork  most  cheap- 
ly tile  Kansas  farmer  must  have  alfalfa  pasture  in  sum- 
mer and  alfalfa  hay  in  winter." 

The  Kansas  station  also  found  in  another  test  that 
one  acre  of  alfalfa  produced  pork  worth  $20.30,  while 
one  acre  of  rape  produced  pork  worth  $10.05. 

The  Iowa  station  director  estimated  that  one  acre  of 
alfalfa  pasture  was  worth  at  least  three  acres  of  blue 
grass  for  pigs.  -It  is  claimed  by  Kansas  farmers  that  an 
average  acre  of  alfalfa  will  pasture  15  pigs,  while  some 
report  having  pastured  20  or  more  pigs  per  acre.  Those 
who  have  used  alfalfa  as  a  soiling  crop  for  pigs  admit, 
however,  that  one  acre  so  utilized  is  equal  to  two.  if  not 
three,  used  as  pasture. 

It  is  argued  by  feeders  that  as  many  hogs  may  profit- 
ably be  allowed  with  cattle  that  are  being  fattened  on 
corn  and  alfalfa  as  when  the  cattle  are  fed  corn  alone, 
as  the  feeders  believe  in  cleaning  out  the  feed  racks  every 
few  days  and  giving  the  left-over  stems  to  the  hogs.  If 
necessary,  a  little  corn  is  added  to  the  hog  ration. 


[96  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

FURTHER  KANSAS  TESTS 

R.  J.  Kinzer,  animal  husbandry  professor  at  the  Kan- 
sas station,  writes  the  author  in  February,  1908,  that  an 
experiment  of  his  covering  65  days  ''indicates  that  for 
every  12  pounds  of  green  alfalfa  fed  in  connection  with 
corn,  one  additional  pound  of  pork  was  produced.  In 
this  particular  experiment  it  took  595  pounds  of  corn 
fed  alone  to  make  100  pounds  of  pork,  and  500  pounds 
of  corn  with  190  pounds  of  green  alfalfa  to  produce  100 
pounds  of  pork,  or  a  bushel  of  corn  in  connection  with  21 
pounds  of  green  alfalfa  to  produce  11.2  pounds  of  pork. 
From  this  it  may  be  seen  that  the  190  pounds  of  fresh, 
green  alfalfa  was  apparently  the  equivalent  in  pork 
making  to  the  95  pounds  of  corn  where  corn  alone  was 
fed,  in  which  case,  as  will  be  noted,  the  average  was 
slightly  under  six  pounds  of  corn  to  each  pound  of  pork 
produced,  which  would  credit  the  95  pounds  of  corn  with 
a  fraction  less  than  16  pounds  of  pork.  On  this  basis, 
the  190  pounds  of  green  alfalfa  would  produce  also  about 
16  pounds  of  pork,  or  at  the  rate  of  one  pound  of  pork 
for  each  12  pounds  of  alfalfa  consumed.  Estimating 
that  an  acre  will  yield  during  a  season  20,000  pounds 
of  green  alfalfa,  this  experiment  would  show  that  the 
product  of  such  an  acre  of  alfalfa  fed  green  to  swine, 
with  corn,  would  give  something  like  1,670  pounds  of 
pork.  While  this  might  be  literally  true,  the  point-blank 
statement  that  an  acre  of  green  alfalfa  would  produce 
1.670  pounds  of  pork  might  at  the  same  time  be  entirely 
misleading.  In  one  test  made  in  winter,  we  found  that 
TOO  pounds  of  alfalfa  hay  saved  96  pounds  of  corn. 
Figuring  on  the  basis  of  five  pounds  of  corn  producing 


ALFALFA    FOR    SWIME  I97 

one  pound  of  pork,  the  96  pounds  of  corn  would  give  19 
pounds  of  pork.  Estimating  the  average  yield  of 
alfalfa  hay  to  be  four  tons  per  acre,  it  would,  on  this 
basis,  mean  1520  pounds  of  pork  per  acre  from  feeding 
alfalfa  hay  with  corn." 

A  NEBRASKA  TEST 

The  Nebraska  experiment  station  at  Lincoln,  from  a 
hog-feeding  test  made  in  1903.  reported  the  following: 

"With  the  alfalfa  ha}-  worth  $7  per  ton,  the  leaves, 
containing  40  per  cent  more  protein,  would  be  worth 
approximately  $10  per  ton.  Hie  sliorts  cost  $12.50  per 
ton  delivered.  The  dairy  department  charged  15  cents 
per  100  pounds  for  the  skim  milk  used.  Corn  was  de- 
livered to  the  barns  at  30  cents  per  bushel.  Adding  the 
usual  rate  of  six  cents  per  100  pounds  for  grinding,  the 
corn  meal  cost  $12  per  ton.  At  these  prices  each  100 
pounds  of  gain  in  the  several  lots  cost  as  follows  : 

Lot  I,  corn  alone $4.48 

Lot  2,  corn  and  skim  milk 3.97 

Lot  3,  corn  and  shorts   3.53 

Lot  4,  corn  and  alfalfa 3.40 

"This  experiment  shows  that  at  the  market  prices 
quoted  and  the  proportions  used  in  the  experiment,  skim 
milk  will  make  corn  bring  four  cents  more  per  bushel, 
wheat  shorts  eight  cents  more,  and  alfalfa  leaves  nine 
cents  more.  Assuming  that  only  five  per  cent  of  the  252,- 
520.173  bushels  of  corn  produced  in  Nebraska  this  year 
is  being  fed  to  hogs  as  a  single  food,  these  figures  would 
go  to  show  that  $1,000,000  more  wealth  would  be  added 


198  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

to  the  State  if  wheat  shorts  or  alfalfa  were  substituted 
for  one-fifth  of  the  corn  fed." 

FURTHER  NEBRASKA  TESTS 

A  number  of  extremely  interestnig  tests,  of  course  not 
decisive,  have  been  made  at  the  experimental  substation, 
at  North  Platte,  under  Supt.  W.  P.  Snyder,  to  test  the 
economy  and  effect  of  alfalfa  as  hay  and  pasture  as  a 
food  for  swine.  The  results  of  these  tests  have  been 
fully  set  forth  in  Nebraska  Bulletin  No.  99. 

Experiment  No.  i. — In  the  summer  of  1904,  from 
July  16  to  October  22,  three  lots  of  17  pigs  each 
were  run  on  alfalfa  pasture  and  fed  rations  of  corn. 
All  lots  were  quite  uniform  and  of  equal  weights. 

Lot  I  was  fed  3^  pound  corn  daily  per  100  pounds  of 
weight  of  pigs. 

Lot  2  was  fed  i>2  pounds  corn  daily  per  100  pounds 
of  weight  of  pigs. 

Lot  3  was  fed  2>^  pounds  corn  daily  per  100  pounds 
of  weight  of  pigs. 

The  amount  of  feed  was  corrected  to  conform  to  the 
weights  at  the  end  of  each  two  weeks  period.  During 
the  14  weeks  of  the  experiment  the  average  daily  gain 
of  the  pigs  in  Lot  i  was  .28  pound;  in  Lot  2,  .37  pound, 
and  in  Lot  3,  .51  pound,  increasing  as  the  percentage  of 
grain  increased  in  the  three  lots.  The  amount  of  grain 
required  to  produce  100  pounds  gain  was,  by  Lot  i,  124 
pounds  ;  by  Lot  2,  222  pounds ;  and  by  Lot  3,  332  pounds ; 
showing  that  the  lighter  the  grain  ration,  the  less  grain 
was  required  for  100  pounds  gain.  The  cost  of  100 
pounds  gain  was,  in  Lot  i,  $0.78;  in  Lot  2,  $1.39;  and 


ALFALFA    FUR    SWINE  I 99 

ill  Lot  3,  $2.08.  The  cost  of  the  grain  eaten  in  produc- 
ing 100  pounds  gain  with  the  lot  fed  2)^2  per  cent  was 
1.30  pounds  more  than  with  the  lot  fed  Yz  per  cent  and 
09  cents  more  than  with  the  lot  fed  lYi  per  cent.  The 
price  received  per  bushel  of  corn  eaten  by  Lot  i  was 
^2.84;  by  Lot  2,  $1.38;  and  by  Lot  3,  $0.92.  All  these 
llgures  indicate  that  the  lighter  the  grain  ration,  the 
cheaper  the  gain.  But  when  we  consider  the  profits  we 
iind  that  the  daily  profit  per  pig  was,  in  Lot  i,  1.3  cents; 
in  Lot  2,  1.5  cents;  and  in  Lot  3,  1.7  cents.  The  profit 
during  the  14  weeks  on  each  pig  was,  in  Lot  i,  $1.28;  in 
Lot  2,  $1.48;  and  in  Lot  3,  $1.64.  The  pigs  receiving 
Yz  per  cent  did  not  do  well  enough  to  warrant  a  repeti- 
tion of  the  same  test.  They  had  a  decidedly  stunted  ap- 
pearance. Lot  2  was  not  as  thrifty  as  most  farmers 
^vouId  demand  in  profitable  feeders,  but  in  later  experi- 
ments 2  per  cent  grain  on  pasture  has  given  thrifty 
growing  pigs. 

Experiment  No.  2. — In  the  summer  of  1906,  three 
lots  of  30  pigs  each  were  selected  to  test  the  relative 
profit  in  growing  and  fattening  pigs  on  alfalfa,  with  a 
light,  a  medium  and  a  full  grain  ration.  The  plan  was 
to  run  these  pigs  on  a  different  percentage  of  grain  until 
green  alfalfa  was  no  longer  available  in  the  fall,  and 
then  to  put  all  lots  on  -  full  ration,  marketing  each  lot 
\\hen  it  had  reached  near  the  average  weight  of  225 
pounds  per  hog.  After  the  hogs  were  removed  rom 
the  alfalfa  pastures,  the  ration  was  changed  from  corn 
to  50  per  cent  shelled  corn  and  so  per  cent  ground  rye. 
As  there  was  required  a  larger  amount  of  grain  to  finish 
Lots  22  and  22^  on  the  lighter  rations  than  Lot  24  on  the 


200  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

full  ration  after  the  change  was  made  in  the  ration,  a 
larger  percentage  of  the  grain  fed  to  those  lots  was  rye. 
To  correct  this  in  so  far  as  possible,  the  rye  was  figured 
at  the  same  price  per  pound  as  corn.  Figuring  in  this 
manner  should  be  favorable  to  the  hogs  receiving  the 
most  rye,  as  a  ration  of  50  per  cent  ground  rye  and  50 
per  cent  corn  should  give  larger  gains  per  100  pounds  of 
grain  than  a  ration  entirely  of  corn. 

Wintry  storms  came  much  earlier  than  usual  and 
caught  the  hogs  in  summer  shelters.  It  required  three 
weeks  to  provide  permanent  winter  quarters  and  to  get 
all  lots  upon  a  full  ration.  In  order  to  present  the  re- 
sults clearly,  the  experiment  has  been  separated  here  into 
three  periods.  Period  i  includes  the  time  the  pigs  were 
on  green  alfalfa;  Period  2,  the  interim  between  the  green 
pasture  and  full  feed,  with  suitable  winter  quarters; 
Period  3  is  the  finishing  period  when  the  hogs  were  on 
full  feed. 

Period  i,  from  June  23  to  October  20,  1906. 

Lot  22  was  fed  i  pound  corn  per  100  pounds  weight 
of  pigs. 

Lot  23  was  fed  2  pounds  corn  per  100  pounds  weight 
of  pigs. 

Lot  24  was  fed  a  full  ration  of  corn,  about  3.5  per 
cent. 

The  ration  was  shelled  corn  fed  dry.  All  lots  on  al- 
falfa pasture. 

During  the  17  weeks  of  the  experiment,  the  average 
daily  gain  of  each  pig  in  Lot  22  was  .5  pound ;  in  Lot  23. 
.65  pound;  and  in  Lot  24.  i.oS  pounds.  The  amount  of 
grain  required  to  produce  100  pounds  gain  was,  by  Lot 


ALFALFA    FOR    SWINE  20I 

22,  132  pounds;  by  Lot  2^,  220  pounds;  and  by  Lot  24, 
330  pounds.  The  cost  of  100  pounds  gain  was,  in  Lot 
22,  $0.83;  in  Lot  23,  $1.38;  and  in  Lot  24,  $2.10.  The 
price  received  per  bushel  of  corn  eaten  by  Lot  22  was 
i$2.^^;  by  Lot  2^,  $1.40;  and  by  Lot  24.  $0.91.  All 
these  items  show  that  the  lighter  grain  rations  gave  the 
clieaper  gains.     The  cost  of  pasture  is  not  counted. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  average  daily  profit  per  pig- 
was,  in  Lot  22,  2.;^  cents ;  in  Lot  23,  2.6  cents ;  and  in  Lot 
24,  3.6  cents.  The  average  proht  for  the  17  weeks  on 
each  pig  was,  for  those  in  Lot  22,  $2.68;  in  Lot  23, 
$3.10;  and  in  Lot  24,  $4.27.  While  Lot  24  required 
about  2>j  times  as  much  corn  to  produce  100  pounds 
gain  as  Lot  22  required,  yet  it  returned  nearly  1.6  times 
as  much  profit  as  Lot  22,  during  the  time  of  the  ex- 
periment. 

Period  2,  from  October  20  to  November  10,  1906. 

The  ration  was  shelled  corn,  soaked  rye  and  alfalfa 
hay.  During  this  period  Lot  22  gained  190  pounds, 
eating  1,512  pounds  of  corn  and  336  pounds  of  rye,  and 
requiring  972  pounds  grain  for  100  pounds  gain.  There 
was  a  loss  of  $1.08  on  the  grain  eaten. 

Lot  2^  gained  300  pounds,  eating  1,158  pounds  corn 
and  420  pounds  rye,  and  requiring  526  pounds  grain  for 
100  pounds  gain.  This  gave  a  profit  of  $6.63  on  the 
grain  eaten. 

Lot  24  gained  610  pounds,  eating  3.270  pounds  corn 
and  574  pounds  rye,  requiring  630  pounds  grain  for  100 
pounds  gain.  This  gave  a  profit  of  $9.51  on  the  grain 
eaten. 


202  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

It  will  l)e  noted  that  all  gains  were  made  with  an  iin- 
iLi.sually  large  amount  of  grain.  This  was  due  largely  tc 
the  effect  of  storms,  which  came  before  the  hogs  were  in 
winter  quarters,  and  with  Lot  23  was  also  due  to  too 
light  a  grain  ration  after  the  green  alfalfa  was  no  longer 
a\ailable.  During  this  period  rye  was  fed  soaked  but 
not  ground.      This  also  increased  the  cost  ©f  production. 

Period  3,  from  November  10  until  ready  for  market. 

Lot  24  reached  an  average  of  228  pounds  on  Decem- 
ber 8,  1906.  Lot  21,  reached  an  average  of  236  pounds 
on  February  2,  1907.  Lot  22  reached  an  average  of 
-33  pounds  on  F'ebruary  11,  1907. 

During  the  fattening  period.  Lot  22.  the  pigs  which 
had  been  grown  on  alfalfa  and  a  light  grain  ration,  re- 
quired 467  pounds  of  grain  to  produce  100  pounds  gain, 
at  the  rate  of  1.34  pounds  gain  daily  per  pig,  giving  a 
proht  of  ^.c^  cents  per  head  daily.  Lot  23,  the  pigs  that 
had  been  grown  on  a  medium  grain  ration  and  alfalfa 
produced  100  pounds  gain  from  509  pounds  grain,  at 
the  rate  of  1.26  pounds  gain  daily  per  pig.  giving  a 
profit  of  2.7  cents  daily  per  pig.  During  a  much  shorter 
finishing  period.  Lot  24,  the  pigs  which  had  been  grown 
on  a  full  grain  ration  and  alfalfa,  required  787  pounds 
grain  for  100  pounds  gain  made  at  the  rate  of  .8  pound 
gain  per  pig  daily,  giving  a  daily  profit  per  pig  of  1.3 
cents.  With  Lot  24  this  was  during  only  the  last  four 
weeks  of  the  fattening  period  when  the  hogs  were  being 
finished  for  market,  while  with  the  other  lots  these  fig- 
ures cover  a  much  longer  time.  Hence  the  results  of 
this  period,  taken  alone,  should  not  l)e  regarded  as  com- 
parable. 


ALFALFA    FOR    SWINE  2O3 

Tlie  pigs  in  Lot  22,  grown  on  a  light  grain  ration  of 
I  i^er  cent  of  their  weight  until  they  averaged  100 
pounds,  and  then  finished  on  a  full  ration,  gained  for  the 
entire  period  .83  pound  each  per  day.  They  recjuired  377 
pounds  of  grain  for  100  pounds  gain,  and  gave  a  daily 
l)roht  of  2.6  cents  per  head.  Those  in  Lot  2^.  grown 
on  a  medium  grain  ration  of  2  per  cent  of  their  weight 
until  reaching  the  average  weight  ot  120  pounds,  and 
then  finished  on  a  full  ration,  gained  .87  pound  each  per 
day.  They  required  391  pounds  of  grain  per  100  pounds 
gain,  returning  a  daily  profit  of  2.7  cents  per  pig.  The 
pigs  in  Lot  24,  grown  and  finished  on  a  full  grain  ration, 
gained  1.13  pounds  each  daily.  They  ate  395  pounds 
of  grain  for  each  100  pounds  gain,  and  gave  a  daily 
])rofit  of  3.4  cents  per  pig. 

The  30  light-grain  ration  pigs  gave  a  profit  of  $179.40 
in  230  days,  or  a  profit  of  $0.78  per  day. 

The  30  medium-grain  ration  pigs  gave  a  profit  of 
.fi  1 79.01  in  221  days,  or  a  profit  of  $0.81  per  day. 

The  30  full-grain  ration  pigs  gave  a  profit  of  $168.30 
in  165  days,  or  a  profit  of  $1.02  per  day. 

Lot  22  was  kept  65  days  longer  than  Lot  24,  and  gave 
a  profit  of  $11.10  more;  or,  stated  in  another  way,  by 
feeding  a  light  grain  ration  instead  of  a  heavy  grain 
ration,  there  was  received  for  keeping  30  hogs  65  days, 
$11.10.  The  interest  on  the  money  received  for  Lot  24 
at  8  per  cent  for  65  days  would  be  $5.33.  This  would 
leave  $5.77  for  the  care  and  labor  of  feeding  and  bed- 
ding, wear  and  tear  on  buildings  and  sheds,  and  the 
risk  on  30  hogs  for  65  days.  Comparing  Lots  23  and 
24,  we  find  that  Lot  23  was  kept  56  days  longer  for  a 


204  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

profit  of  $10.71.  The  interest  on  the  money  received 
from  Lot  24  for  the  56  days  would  have  amounted  to 
$4.61  at  8  per  cent.  This  leaves  $6.10  for  the  care  and 
labor  of  keeping,  wear  and  tear  on  sheds  and  risk  on  30 
hog-.s  for  56  days. 

Lot  26,  of  Experiment  No.  3,  which  follows,  gives  a 
comparison  of  a  still  more  extended  feeding  period,  run- 
ning 259  days  from  July  28,  1906,  to  April  13,  1907, 
with  a  continuous  light  grain  ration  until  the  last  42 
days.  In  this  lot  the  daily  profit  per  pig  runs  slightly 
below  Lot  22  and  the  total  profit  per  pig  slightly  below 
any  of  the  three  lots  with  which  it  is  compared.  Had 
Lot  26  been  fed  to  the  final  weight  of  the  other  three 
lots,  the  difference  would  have  been  still  greater. 

Experiment  No.  3 — Three  lots  of  30  pigs  each  were 
run  in  alfalfa  pastures  from  July  28  to  October  20,  1906. 

Lot  25  was  fed  2  per  cent  corn. 

Lot  26  was  fed  2  per  cent  grain,  of  which  75  per  cent 
was  corn  and  25  per  cent  shorts. 

Lot  2y  was  fed  a  full  ration,  of  which  75  per  cent  was 
corn  and  25  per  cent  shorts,  amounting  to  between  3  and 
4  per  cent. 

The  pigs  fed  corn  in  Lot  25  gained  .1  pound  more 
each  per  day  than  those  fed  a  ration  75  per  cent  corn 
and  25  per  cent  shorts  in  Lot  26.  The  lot  fed  corn  pro- 
duced 100  pounds  gain  with  2T,  pounds  less  grain  than 
the  lot  fed  the  same  percentage  of  corn  and  shorts.  The 
daily  profit  per  pig  in  Lot  25,  fed  corn,  was  2.8  cents, 
and  in  Lot  26,  fed  corn  and  shorts,  2.1  cents.  The 
profit  per  pig  in  12  weeks  was  56  cents  more  in  Lot  25 
than  in  Lot  26.     The  cost  of  100  pounds  gain  was  37 


ALlALi  A    FOR    SWINE  205 

cents  less  in  the  lot  fed  corn.  Every  item  of  comparison 
in  the  results  of  this  test  is  in  favor  of  corn  rather  than 
corn  and  shorts. 

Comparing  Lot  26,  fed  2  per  cent  grain,  and  Lot  27 
fed  a  full  ration  amounting  to  between  3  per  cent  and 
4  per  cent,  we  find  that  the  daily  gain  per  pig  in  Lot 
26  was  .53  pound,  and  in  Lot  27  .84  pound,  and  that  the 
grain  required  to  produce  100  pounds  gain  in  Lot  26  was 
196  pounds  and  in  Lot  27,  273  pounds.  These  figures 
agree  with  previous  comparisons  in  emphasizing  the 
fact  that  with  the  lighter  grain  rations  there  is  required 
less  grain  to  produce  100  pounds  gain.  The  cost  of  100 
pounds  gain  in  Lot  26  was  $1.45  and  in  Lot  27  $1.88 
The  profits  per  day,  however,  are  all  in  favor  of  a  heavy 
ration.  The  daily  profit  per  pig  was  .9  cent  more  and 
the  profit  per  pig  in  12  weeks  76  cents  more  m  Lot  27, 
fed  a  full  ration,  than  in  Lot  26,  fed  a  medium  ration. 
The  prices  per  bushel  received  for  corn  fed  to  Lots  26 
and  2j  were  $1.54  and  $1.13  respectively,  figuring  corn 
and  shorts  as  having  the  same  feeding  value  in  producing 
gains. 

Comparing  the  results  of  all  pigs  having  grain  and 
alfalfa  pasture,  and  using  the  daily  profit  per  pig  as  the 
unit  of  comparison,  we  find  that  the  most  profitable 
ration  has  been  the  heavy  rather  than  the  light  or  me- 
(h"inn  rations.  The  lowest  daily  profit  per  pig  was  1.3 
cents  from  a  ration  of  >2  per  cent  corn  (Lot  i)  and  the 
highest  profit  3.6  cents  from  a  full  ration  of  corn  (Lot 
24).  The  daily  profits  range  quite  closely  witli  the  per- 
centage of  grain  fed.  The  gain  froni  the  same  ration 
was  more  rapid  in  1906  than  in  1904,  due  largely  to  a 


206  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

thriftier  condition  of  the  pigs  and  possibly  to  the  effect 
of  grading  up  by  the  use  of  good  sires. 

These  experiments  carry  the  pig  from  the  time  it 
weighs  from  40  to  50  pounds  until  it  weighs  from  80  to 
170  pounds,  depending  on  the  percentage  of  grain  fed. 
They  give  no  indication  of  the  cost  of  producing  a  50- 
pound  pig  nor  the  cost  of  finishing  the  hogs  for  market. 

Studying  the  effect  of  a  medium  grain  ration  on  the 
cost  of  pork,  the  treatment  of  Lot  26  furnishes  interest- 
ing data. 

Lot  26,  consisting  of  30  pigs,  was  fed  in  Experiment 
No.  3  from  July  28  to  October  20,  1906,  on  a  2  per  cent 
grain  ration  consisting  of  three-fourths  corn  and  one- 
fourth  shorts.  This  constituted  Period  i  of  Experi- 
ment No.  3. 

During  Period  2,  from  October  20.  1906,  to  March 
2,  1907,  they  received  2  per  cent  shelled  corn,  except 
during  the  first  20  days  of  this  period,  when  they  re- 
ceived 231  pounds  of  shorts,  which  is  counted  as  corn. 

During  Period  3.  from  March  2  to  April  13,  1907, 
they  received  3  per  cent  shelled  corn  and  reached  a 
weight  of  215  pounds,  or  approximately  the  selling 
weights  of  Lots  22,  23  and  24. 

During  Period  i  they  ran  on  alfalfa  pasture.  Dur- 
ing Periods  2  and  3  they  pastured  upon  a  field  of  win- 
ter rye  and  received  alfalfa  hay. 

Experiment  No.  5. — This  included  three  tests  of  keep- 
ing hogs  on  alfalfa  without  grain.  Lot  4  was  composed 
of  14  hogs  that  were  over  a  year  old  but  light  in  weight 
and  thin  in  flesh.  Thcv  were  grown  on  alfalfa,  with  a 
very  light  grain  ration.     It  will  be  noted  that  during 


ALFALFA    FOR    SWINE 


207 


.2  1-3  months,  when  they  received  no  grain,  they  gained 
.5  pound  each  per  day. 

Lots  5  and  28  were  made  up  of  brood  sows  from 
wliich  the  pigs  had  been  weaned  for  some  time.  These 
gave  a  daily  gain  of  .43  pound  and  .53  pound  respective- 
ly. The  ax'crage  of  tiu'ee  trials,  including  42  hogs,  gives 
an  average  daily  gain  per  hog  of  slightly  less  than  half  a 
pound.  ^J'his  ])y  mature  hogs,  thin  in  flesh,  on  alfalfa 
pasture  and  water. 

The  table  herewith  o-ives  the  details: 


MATURE    HOGS 

ON    ALFALFA    W^ITHOUT 

GRAIN 

Lot  4 

Lot  5 

Lot  28 

June  1  7  to  Aug. 

26,  1904 

14 

70 

168 

134 

34 

.5 

Aug.  20  to  Oct. 

22,  1904 

10 

63 

221 

194 

27 

.43 

Julv  27  to  Oct. 

20.  1906 

18 

.\' umber  of  days  in  experiment 
Average  last  weight   pounds.  . 
Average  first  weight,  pounds  . 

Average  gain,  pounds 

Average  gam  daily,  pound — 

95 
240 
190 

50 
.53 

Experiment  No.  6. — With  this  lot  (No.  29)  was  an 
e.xperiment  in  fattening  hogs  on  a  full  ration  of  corn 
with  alfalfa  pasture,  i'rom  May  20  to  July  15,  1906, 
from  1/  to  20  liogs,  averaging  about  130  pounds  each, 
were  fed  a  full  ration  of  corn  and  given  the  run  of  a 
five-acre  lot  of  alfalfa.  The  total  weight  of  the  hogs  put 
into  the  field  was  2,935  pounds.  They  ate  7,952  pounds 
of  corn,  and  gained  1,615  pounds.  This  gain  was  at  the 
rate  of  1.6  jiounds  daily  for  each  hog.  They  ate  492 
pounds  of  corn  for  each  100  pounds  gained.  One  hun- 
dred pounds  of  gain  cost  $3.07  with  corn  at  35  cents 
per  bushel.     This  left  a  profit   of  $2.43  on  each   100 


208  '         SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

pounds  of  gain.  The  profit  on  each  hog  daily  was  3.9 
cents.  The  amount  received  for  each  bushel  of  corn 
eaten  was  62  cents. 

Experiment  No.  7. — This  was  in  fattening  hogs  on 
alfalfa  pasture  with  corn.  Twenty-nine  shotes  were 
kept  in  a  five-acre  alfalfa  pasture  and  fed  3  pounds  of 
corn  daily  for  each  100  pounds  of  hogs  from  April  27  to 
June  8,  1906,  six  weeks.  Their  average  weight  on  April 
27th  was  185  pounds,  and  six  weeks  later  252  pounds. 
The  hogs  gained  on  an  average  1.59  pounds  each  per 
day,  or  66.9  pounds  each  in  six  weeks.  They  ate  387 
pounds  of  corn  for  each  100  pounds  gain  in  weight.  The 
cost  of  100  pounds  gain  was  $2.36,  leaving  a  profit  of 
$3.14  on  each  100  pounds  of  gain.  Each  hog  in  the  test 
gave  a  profit  of  $2.10  on  the  six  weeks'  feeding,  or  5 
cents  daily.  There  were  received  for  each  bushel  of  corn 
eaten  79  cents.  If  each  hog  was  charged  10  cents  for  al- 
falfa pasture  the  cost  of  100  pounds  gain  would  be  $2.51., 

Experiment  No.  8. — This  was  a  test  of  the  value  of 
alfalfa  pasture  in  fattening  mature  hogs.  Lots  20  and 
21  were  made  up  of  ten  brood  sows  each,  from  which 
the  pigs  had  been  weaned.  Some  changes  were  made  in 
both  lots  during  the  test.  Each  lot  was  fed  for  30  days. 
Lot  20  had  the  run  of  a  five-acre  field  of  alfalfa  and  was 
fed  3  pounds  of  corn  daily  per  100  pounds  weight  of 
hogs,  from  June  23  to  July  2t,,  1906.  Lot  21  was  kept 
in  a  dry  lot  and  fed  4  pounds  of  corn  daily  per  100 
pounds  weight  of  hogs,  from  July  28  to  August  2'J, 
1906.    The  table  shows  the  details : 


ALFALFA    FOR    SWIME 


209 


ALFALFA  PASTURE  VERSUS  DRY  LOT  FOR  FATTENING  HOGS 
WITH  CORN.  EXPERIMENT  BEGAN  WITH  LOT  20  ON 
JUNE  2;^  AND  WITH  LOT  21    ON  JULY  28,   I906 


Lot  20                  Lot  21 

3%  com,  with 
alfalfa  pasture 
101 
30 
344 
265 
79 
2.83« 
301 
$1,882 
3.62 
2.86 
.10 
1.02 
28.60 

exclusively 
101 

30 

333 

260 

73 

2  551 

431 

Cost  of  100  pounds  gain,  com  3Sc  per  bushel 

Profit  on  100  pounds  gain,  hogs  $5.50    100  pounds 

$2.69 
2.81 
2  05 

.07 

Price  received  per  bushel  corn 

.71 

20.50 

'Two  hogs  were  added  to  Lot  20  and  one  taken  from  Lot  21.  This  would  make 
the  figures  seem  inaccurate  if  not  taken  into  consideration. 

2If  each  hog  in  Lot  20  were  charged  10  cents  for  alfalfa  pasture  the  cost  of  100 
pounds  gain  would  be  $2.00. 

The  hogs  in  Lot  20,  on  alfalfa  pasture,  gained  daily 
per  head  .28  pound  more  than  Lot  21,  confined  in  a  dry 
lot,  and  ate  130  pounds  less  corn  for  each  100  pounds 
gain.  The  hogs  on  alfalfa  made  gains  at  a  cost  of  81 
cents  less  per  100  pounds  than  those  in  a  dry  lot.  The 
average  profit  on  each  hog  in  Lot  20  on  a  feeding  period 
of  30  days  was  81  cents  more  than  on  the  hogs  in  Lot 
J  I.  The  daily  profit  per  hog  on  alfalfa  was  10  cents 
and  per  hog  in  a  dry  lot  7  cents.  There  was  received  for 
each  bushel  of  corn  fed  to  the  hogs  on  alfalfa  $1.02,  and 
for  each  bushel  fed  to  those  in  a  dry  lot  71  cents.  It 
required  nearly  43  per  cent  more  corn  to  produce  100 
pounds  gain  in  a  dry  lot  than  when  alfalfa  pasture  was 
supplied. 

E.xperiment  No.  9. — Methods  of  feeding  alfalfa  with 
grain,  for  fattening  hogs;     From  November  24,  1906, 


210  SVVliN'E   IX    AMERICA 

until  February  2^,  1907,  six  lots  of  10  hogs  each  were 
used  in  an  experiment  to  determine  the  advantage  in 
using  alfalfa  with  corn  and  with  barley  in  fattening 
hogs.  These  hogs  were  from  Lots  25  and  2"/  of  Ex- 
periment No.  3.  All  lots  were  uniform  as  to  condition 
and  breeding  and  of  almost  equal  weights.  All  were 
fed  a  full  ration.     All  grain  was  ground  and  fed  wet. 

ALFALFA  WITH  GRAIN  FOR  FATTENING  HOGS.  EXPERI- 
MENT BEGAN  NOV.  24,  I906,  AND  ENDED  FEB.  23, 
1907 


No.  of  pigs  in  lot 

No.  of  days  in  exp. .  .  . 
Av.last  weight  pounds 

per  pig 

Av.  first  weight 

pounds  per  pig 

Av.  gain,  pounds  per 

pig 

Av.  gain  daily  weight 

pounds  per  pig 

Grain  per  100  pounds 

gain 

Cost  of  100  pounds 

gain,  corn    35  cents, 

barley  30  cents 

Profit  on  100  pounds 

hogs  at  $5.50 

Profit  on  each  pig. . .  . 
Profit   on   each   pig 

daily 

Price  received  per 

bushel  grain 

Pounds  of  grain  saved 

for  each  100  pounds 

gain,  by    using    al-, 

falfa I 


31 

32 

33 

34 

com 
alfalfa 
hay 
10 
91 

com  75% 
alfalfa 
cut  25% 

10 

91 

barley 

10 
91 

barlev 
alfalfa 

hay 

10 

91 

247 

246 

228 

237 

131 

131 

126 

127 

116 

lis 

102 

110 

1.27 

1.26 

1.12 

1.21 

«, 

420 

573 

562 

$3.07' 

$2.62' 

$3.58 

$3.51' 

2.43 
2.82 

2.88 
3.31 

1.92 
1.96 

1.99 
2.19 

.031 

.036 

.022 

.024 

.63 

.73 

.46 

.47 

37 

108 

11 

barley  75% 

alfalfa 

cut  25% 

10 

91 

225 

127 

98 

1.07 

492 

$3.07' 

2.43 
2.38 


.026 
.54 


'If  $5.00  per  ton  were  charged  for  the  alfalfa  consumed,  the  cost  of  100  pounds 
gain  would  be  as  follows:     Lot  31,  $3.15;  Lot  32,  $2.70;  Lot  34,  $3.59;  Lot  35,  $3.14. 


Lot  30  was  fed  corn. 

Lot  31  was  fed  corn  and  alfalfa  hay  fed  on  the  ground 


ALFALFA    FOR    SWIJS'E  211 

Lot  ;^2  was  fed  75  per  cent  corn  and  25  per  cent 
cliopped  alfalfa  mixed  and  fed  in  troughs. 

Lot  ^^  was  fed  barley. 

Lot  34  was  fed  barley  and  alfalfa  hay  fed  on  the 
ground. 

Lot  35  was  fed  75  per  cent  barley  and  25  per  cent 
chopped  alfalfa  mixed  and  fed  in  troughs. 

The  results  of  this  test  are  given  without  expressing 
an  opinion  as  to  which  practice  is  the  most  profitable,  as 
this  will  depend  largely  on  local  conditions,  conveniences 
for  chopping  alfalfa,  and  cost  of  labor. 

It  will  be  noted  that  larger  and  quicker  gains  were 
secured  when  alfalfa  was  fed,  except  with  Lot  35.  and 
tiiat  100  pounds  of  gain  was  secured  with  le,<='3  grain  when 
alfalfa  was  supplied.  Where  alfalfa  hay  was  fed  un- 
cut, there  was  a  saving  of  37  pounds  of  grain  on  each 
100  pounds  gain  in  weight  of  hogs,  and  where  it  was 
fed  cut  (chopped  or  chaffed),  as  25  per  cent  of  the 
ration,  there  was  a  saving  of  108  pounds  of  grain  for 
each  100  pounds  gain,  over  corn  alone,  and  71  pounds 
o\er  corn  and  alfalfa  hay  uncut.  Thirty-five  pounds  of 
cut  alfalfa  saved  108  pounds  of  corn,  and  the  same 
amount  of  uncut  alfalfa  saved  37  pounds  of  corn. 

The  results  from  feeding  barley  and  alfalfa  in  the 
manner  indicated  are  in  line  with  those  from  feeding 
corn  and  alfalfa,  but  not  so  much  in  favor  of  alfalfa. 
This  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  barley  contains  so  much 
indigestible  material  in  the  hull  that  when  alfalfa  is 
added  it  makes  too  much  bulk  to  the  food,  whereas  the 
bulk  in  the  alfalfa  is  an  advantage  to  the  corn.  There  was 
about  7  per  cent  of  the  cut  alfalfa  wasted  when   fed 


212  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

with  corn,  and  about  17  per  cent  when  fed  with  barley. 
There  was  probably  a  much  larger  percentage  of  the 
uncut  alfalfa  wasted.  One  noticeable  feature  throughout 
the  experiment  was  that  the  hogs  not  having  access  to 
alfalfa  were  much  more  easily  put  off  their  feed  by 
heavy  feeding  than  the  other  hogs  and  would  not  eat 
as  large  a  percentage  of  grain  as  those  having  free  access 
to  alfalfa  hay. 

These,  as  Superintendent  Snyder  says,  are  the  results 
of  but  one  test.  'Tt  is  probable  that  a  less  amount  of  un- 
cut alfalfa  would  have  given  equally  as  favorable  results. 
The  amount  stated  here  is  only  approximate,  as  it  was 
not  weighed  at  each  feeding  time,  but  only  sufficient- 
I3'  often  to  give  a  fairly  accurate  estimate.  The  cut 
alfalfa  was  weighed  accurately.  It  is  also  possible  that 
less  than  25  per  cent  of  cut  alfalfa  would  have  given 
more  rapid  gains.  It  is  not  our  intention  to  advocate 
feeding  a  ration  of  25  per  cent  cut  alfalfa  and  75  per 
cent  grain  as  the  most  profitable,  but  simply  to  give  the 
results  of  this  test,  which  is  only  preliminary  in  the 
feeding  of  alfalfa  hay.  It  is  probable  that  maximum 
profits  on  corn  will  be  secured  with  a  smaller  proportion 
of  alfalfa  than  the  25  per  cent  here  used,  and  when  the 
cost  of  cutting  alfalfa  hay  is  considered  it  may  even  be 
possible  that  the  greatest  profit  to  the  average  farmer 
will  result  from  feeding  uncut  alfalfa  in  racks,  and  either 
shelled  or  ear  corn.  Much  will  always  depend  on  the 
quality  of  the  alfalfa  fed,  late  cuttings  choicely  cured 
being  preferable  to  the  coarser  or  damaged  hay." 

Experiment  No.  10. — A  comparison  of  corn,  emmer 
and  barley  for  fattening  hogs  :    From  October  24,  1905, 


ALFALl'A    I'OR    SW'liXE 


213 


LiiUil  January  z-j,  1906,  94  days,  three  lots  of  20  hogs 
each  were  fed  to  determine  the  comparative  value  of 
corn,  emmer  (speltz)  and  harley.  All  had  access  to 
alfalfa  hay.  The  average  weight  of  the  shotes  was  near 
So  pounds. 

Lot  9  was  fed  corn. 

Lot  1 1  was  fed  emmer. 

Lot  12  was  fed  barley. 

The  same  amount  of  grain  was  fed  to  each  lot.  Lot 
9  was  taken  as  the  standard  and  was  fed  4  per  cent  corn 
— a  full  ration.  All  grain  was  ground,  and  fed  wet. 
Tiie  average  daily  gain  per  pig  in  Lot  9  was  1.02  pounds; 
in  Lot  II,  .yy  pound;  and  in  Lot  12,  .81  pound.  The 
grain  eaten  for  100  pounds  of  gain  was,  by  Lot  9,  470 
pounds  of  corn;  by  Lot  11,  618  pounds  of  emmer;  and 

COMPARISON  OF  RATIONS  OF  CORN,  EMMER  AND  BARLEY 
FOR  FATTENING  PIGS.  EXPERIMENT  BEGUN  OCT. 
24,    1905,   AND  ENDED   JAN.    2/,    I906 


Alfalfa  hay  and 

No.  of  pigs  in  lot 

No.  of  days  in  experiment 

Av.  last  weight  pounds  per  pig 

Av.  first  weight  pounds  per  pig 

Av.  gain  pounds  per  pig 

Av.  gain  daily,  pounds  per  pig 

Grain  per  100  pounds  gain,  pounds 

'Cost  of  100  pounds  gain,  com  35c  per  bushel 

emmer  2Sc  per  bushel,  barley  30c  per  bushel 
Profit  on  100  pounds  gain,  hogs  $5.50  per  100 

poimds 

Profit  on  each  pig 

Profit  on  each  pig  daily 

Price  ftceived  for  100  pounds  of  grain 

Price  received  per  bushel  grain 

Profit  on  lot 


Lot  9 


1%  com 
20 
94 

177.7 
81.7 
96 
1.02 
470 

$2.94 

2.56 
2.46 

.026 
1.17 

.65 
49.20 


Lot  11 


emmer 
20 
94 
153.5 
80.5 
73 


,77 


618 


1.64 

1.19 

.013 


Lot  12 


barley 

20 

94 
156 

79.7 

76.2 
.81 
590 

$3.68 

1.82 

1.38 

.014 

.93 

.44 

27.60 


'If  wc  assume  that  25  per  cent  of  the  food  consumed  con.sisted  of  alfalfa  hay 
valued  at  S5.00  per  ton,  the  cost  of  100  pounds  gain  would  be  as  follows-  Lot  9. 
$3.33;  Lot  11,  $4.37;  Lot  12,  $4.17. 


214  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

by  Lot  12,  590  pounds  of  barley.  The  cost  of  100 
pounds  gain  was,  in  Lot  9,  $2.94;  in  Lot  11,  $3.86;  and 
in  Lot  12,  $3.68. 

Corn  gave  almost  twice  the  daily  profit  per  pig  that 
enimer  or  barley  gave.  The  price  received  per  bushel  of 
grain  was  65  cents  for  corn,  35  cents  for  emmer,  and 
44  cents  for  barley.  One  bushel  of  corn  was  equal  to 
1.83  bushels  of  emmer  or  1.45  bushels  of  barley.  One 
bushel  of  barley  was  equal  to  1.26  bushels  of  emmei. 
This  would  indicate  that  when  corn  is  worth  35  cents 
per  bushel,  barley  is  worth  24  cents  per  bushel  of  48 
pounds,  and  emmer  19  cents  per  bushel  of  40  pounds  for 
fattening  hogs,  where  each  grain  is  fed  alone  and  alfalfa 
hay  supplied.  The  price  per  100  pounds  should  also  be 
observed  in  the  table,  since  the  difference  in  weight  per 
bushel  may  deceive  the  reader  as  to  the  relative  values 
per  100  pounds  of  these  different  grains.  In  these 
figures  40  pounds  of  emmer  and  48  pounds  of  barley  to 
the  bushel  are  used. 

Experiment  No.  11. — This  was  a  test  of  corn  versus 
equal  parts  corn  and  emmer  and  equal  parts  corn  and 
barley  for  fattening  pigs.  Three  lots  of  12  pigs  each 
Avere  fed  from  February  3  to  March  17,  1906.  The 
average  weight  at  the  beginning  was  about  150  pounds. 
All  grain  was  ground  and  fed  wet. 

Lot  13  was  fed  corn. 

Lot  15  was  fed  50  per  cent  corn  and  50  per  cent 
emmer. 

Lot  16  was  fed  50  per  cent  corn  and  50  per  cent 
barley. 


ALFALFA    FOR    SWINE 


COMPARISON  OF  CORN,  CORN  AND  EMMER,  AND  CORN  AND 
BARLEY  FOR  FATTENING  PIGS.  EXPERIMENT  BEGAN 
FEBRUARY  3   AND   ENDED   MARCH    IJ ,   I906 


Lot  13 

Lot  15 

Lot  16 

corn 

12 

42 
225 
160 

64.6 
1.53 
470 

S2.94 

2.56 
1.65 

.039 
1.17 

.655 

corn  50% 
emmer  50% 

42 
202.91 
146.25 

56.66 
1.35 
482 

$3.01 

2.49 
1.40 

.033 

1.14 

emmer.  445 

com    .655 

corn  SO''' 
barlev  50% 

12 

42 

Average  last  weight,  pounds  per  pig..  .  . 
Average  first  weight,  pounds  per  pig...  . 

215.8 
155 
60.83 

Average  gain  daily,  pounds  per  pig 

Grain  per  100  pounds  gain       .         .    . 

1.45 
462 

'Cost  of  100  pounds  gain,  com  35  cents, 
emmer  25c,  barley  30c  per  bushel  .  .  . 

Profit  on  100  pounds  gain,  hogs  $5.50 
100  pounds 

$2.89 
2.61 

1   58 

.037 

Price  received  for  100  pounds  of  grain  . 
Price  received  per  bushel  grain  eaten  .  . 

1.19 
barley  .581 
corn    .655 

'If  we  assume  that  one-fourth  of  the  food  consumed  consisted  of  alfalfa  hay, 
valued  at  $5.00  per  ton,  the  cost  of  100  pounds  gain  would  be  as  follows:  Lot  13 
%7,.il\  Lot  IS.  $3.41;  Lot  16,  $3.27. 

The  average  daily  gain  per  pig  in  Lot  13  was  1.53 
pounds;  in  Lot  15,  1.35  pounds;  and  in  Lot  16,  1.45 
pounds.  These  are  all  large  gains  and  much  more 
nearly  together  than  where  emmer  and  barley  were  fed 
without  corn.  The  grain  required  for  100  pounds  gain 
was,  by  Lot  13.  470  pounds;  by  Lot  15,  482  pounds;  and 
by  Lot  16,  462  pounds.  Where  emmer  formed  one-half 
the  ration,  there  was  required  for  100  pounds  gain  12 
pounds  more  grain  than  where  corn  formed  the  entire 
ration.  Li  Experiment  No.  10,  where  emmer  formed 
tl'/C  entire  ration,  there  was  required  for  100  pounds  gain 
148  pounds  more  grain  than  where  corn  formed  the  en- 
tire ration.  When  barley  formed  one-half  the  grain 
ration,  there  was  required  8  pounds  less,  and  where  it 
formed  the  entire  grain  ration  120  pounds  more  grain  to 


2l6  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

produce  lOO  pounds  gain  than  where  corn  formed  the 
entire  grain  ration.  This  indicates  that  emmer  and  bar- 
ley give  better  results  when  fed  with  corn  than  when 
fed  alone.  This  is  also  shown  by  comparing  the  price 
received  per  bushel  for  grain  in  the  two  experiments. 
In  Experiment  No.  lo,  where  each  kind  of  grain  was 
fed  alone,  the  price  received  per  bushel  was  65.5  cents 
for  corn,  35.5  cents  for  emmer,  and  44.5  cents  for  barley. 
In  Experiment  No.  11,  where  emmer  and  barley  were 
fed  with  corn,  and  also  where  corn  was  fed  alone,  the 
price  received  per  bushel  of  grain  was  65.5  cents  for 
corn,  44.5  cents  for  emmer,  and  58  cents  for  barley. 
That  is,  when  emmer  and  barley  were  fed  with  equal 
amounts  of  corn,  there  were  received  per  bushel  of 
emmer  9  cents  more  and  per  bushel  of  barley  13.5  cents 
more  than  when  emmer  and  barley  were  each  fed  alone. 
Fifty  per  cent  barley  and  50  per  cent  corn  gave  a  cheaper 
gain  than  com  alone,  although  not  so  much  daily  profit. 
In  the  tests  discussed,  where  the  hogs  were  pastured 
in  alfalfa,  each  lot  was  kept  in  a  five-acre  field.  Three 
crops  of  hay  were  harvested,  as  in  other  fields,  though 
not  so  heavy.  A  fair  estimate  places  the  loss  due  to 
pasturing  of  hogs  at  half  or  less  than  half  of  the  growth. 
This  would  be  about  i>2  tons  per  acre,  during  the  sea- 
son, chargeable  to  the  hogs,  says  Mr.  Snyder.  "Count- 
ing the  value  of  alfalfa  at  $5.00  per  ton  in  the  stack,  or 
$2.50  per  ton  before  mowing,  there  would  be  due  from 
the  hogs,  for  each  acre  run  over,  $3.75.  With  a  me- 
dium grain  ration  7  hogs  per  acre  should  not  consume 
more  than  one-half  of  the  crop.  This  would  make  the 
cost  of  grazing  a  hog  on  alfalfa  for  the  season  about 


ALFALFA    FOR    SWINE  21/ 

50  cents.  To  pasture  mature  hogs  without  grain  would 
cost  more  than  twice  this  amount.  Where  hogs  were 
fed  a  heavy  ration  of  grain,  8  head  per  acre  did  not 
damage  the  alfalfa  more  than  20  per  cent.  The  same 
number  on  a  light  grain  ration  would  eat  and  destroy 
from  50  per  cent  to  75  per  cent  of  the  crop. 

"The  number  of  hogs  that  may  be  pastured  profitably 
on  an  acre  depends  very  largely  on  the  amount  of  grain 
fed.  Probably  from  six  to  eight  hogs,  under  ordinary 
conditions,  would  be  about  the  right  number.  This  would 
allow,  besides,  enough  alfalfa  standing  to  make  three 
fair  cuttings  per  year.  The  fields  should  be  small,  rather 
than  large,  so  that  the  alfalfa  nearest  the  water  and 
slieds  will  not  be  grazed  too  close  to  the  ground  and  that 
at  the  further  end  of  the  field  be  left  untouched. 

"We  have  not  observed  satisfactory  results  with  sows 
run  on  alfalfa  without  grain  during  the  pregnant  period, 
although  very  little  grain  is  necessary  for  pregnant  sows 
which  are  to  farrow  in  the  fall. 

"From  the  results  of  these  experiments  and  other  tests 
it  is  evident  that  alfalfa  is  a  great  aid  in  pork  production, 
and  that  when  it  is  available  tliere  is  a  profit  in  raising 
hogs  under  the  conditions  usually  existing  in  western 
Nebraska.  We  believe  that  there  is  enough  alfalfa 
growing  on  the  uplands  and  in  tlie  valleys  in  various 
l)arts  of  the  West  to  warrant  the  statement  that  there  are 
but  few  farms  in  western  Nebraska  on  which  alfalfa 
cannot  be  grown  with  much  profit  for  hog  pasture  and 
winter  feed.  A\'ith  sufficient  good  alfalfa,  well  stacked, 
mature  hogs  can  be  carried  through  the  winter  in  fair 


2l8  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

condition  with  three  pounds  of  corn  per  head  per  day, 
and  if  necessary  with  much  less  grain." 

SOME   CONCLUSIONS 

From  the  Nebraska  experiments  of  which  the  fore- 
going gives  the  details  the  station  authorities  present  the 
following  as  among  their  conclusions,  considered  in  the 
light  of  their  discussion.  All  pertain  to  feeding  hogs 
on  alfalfa  pasture  or  when  alfalfa  hay  is  supplied  under 
conditions  comparable  with  those  existing  at  the  sub- 
station at  North  Platte,  Neb. : 

"A  light  grain  ration  is  not  the  most  economical  for 
growing  pigs,  unless  under  peculiar  circumstances,  when 
alfalfa  is  abundant,  grain  very  high  in  price,  and  market 
conditions  warrant  holding  the  hogs.  It  seems  probable 
that  two  or  more  pounds  of  corn  daily  per  each  hundred- 
weight of  hogs  is  more  profitable  than  a  lighter  ration 
(Experiments  Nos.  i,  2  and  3). 

"Mature  hogs  thin  in  flesh  may  be  expected  to  gain 
about  half  a  pound  per  head  daily  on  alfalfa  without 
grain  (Experiment  No.  5). 

"Mature  hogs,  fed  corn  in  a  dry  lot  while  being  fat- 
tened, required  nearly  one-half  more  grain  to  produce 
100  pounds  gain,  and  gave  a  daily  profit  of  three  cents 
less  per  hog  than  similar  hogs  running  on  alfalfa  pasture 
(Experiment  No.  8). 

"For  fattening  hogs  that  have  access  to  alfalfa  hay, 
corn  at  35  cents,  barley  24  cents  and  emmer  19  cents  per 
bushel  should  give  about  equal  profits.  Under  these 
conditions,  four  bushels  of  barley  are  worth  as  much  as 
five  bushels  of  emmer  (Experiments  Nos.  10  and  11). 


ALFALFA    FOR    SWINE  219 

"Wliere  barley  or  emmer  is  fed  to  hogs  it  is  more 
profitable  to  make  the  ration  one-half  corn  than  to  feed 
emmer  or  barley  alone  (Experiment  No.  1 1). 

''The  cost  of  gain  is  not  a  reliable  criterion  of  profit. 
-V  cheap  gain  may  be  so  slow  as  to  be  unprofitable.  Time, 
labor  and  investment  should  be  considered  when  reckon- 
ing profits.  A  full  grain  ration,  though  making  the  gain 
more  costly,  usually  gives  greater  profits,  because  of  the 
larger  amount  of  business  transacted  in  a  given  time 
\uith  a  given  number  of  hogs  (Experiments  Nos.  i,  2 
and  3). 

"Alfalfa  may  be  fed  with  profit  to  growing  or  fatten- 
ing hogs  in  almost  any  form  so  long  as  it  does  not  make 
up  too  large  a  proportion  of  the  ration.  \Mien  cut 
(chopped  or  chaffed)  and  fed  as  one-quarter  of  the  ra- 
tion with  ground  corn  it  materially  reduced  the  cost  of 
gains  and  increased  the  profits." 

J.  W.  Robison  of  Butler  county.  Kansas,  an  exten- 
sive grower  of  swine,  says:  "I  had  65  sows  about  one 
year  old  in  1907,  of  Berkshire  and  Poland-China  blood, 
which  farrowed  (their  first  litters)  in  April,  May  and 
June,  and  these  sows,  with  their  pigs,  were  pastured  in  a 
i6-acre  alfalfa  field  from  the  middle  of  April  to  the 
middle  of  October — six  months.  Some  of  the  sows  were 
no  doubt  too  young  to  give  the  best  results  as  breeders. 
During  the  six  months  mentioned  alfalfa  and  plenty  of 
good  water  were  all  the  sows  and  their  pigs  had  as  a 
diet,  except,  of  course,  that  the  pigs  had  the  milk  of 
their  mothers,  which,  from  appearances,  was  abundant. 
The  pigs  ran  with  the  sows  all  summer  and  weaned 
themselves.     The  sows  that   farrowed    (all  but  five  or 


220  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

six)  raised  an  average  of  five  pigs  each.  Their  pigs 
came  off  the  pasture  in  October  weighing  an  average  of 
approximately  85  pounds,  and  were  but  httle  less  in 
weight  than  pigs  of  the  same  age  on  similar  pasture  and 
fed  some  corn.  The  sows  were  in  good,  healthy,  thriv- 
ing condition  at  the  end  of  the  grazing  season,  and  none 
of  the  65  died  while  in  the  alfalfa. 

"On  alfalfa  pasture,  with  plenty  of  good  water,  I  be- 
lieve growth  can  be  produced  more  economically  without 
than  with  grain,  but  if  some  corn  is  fed  the  quantity 
should  be  governed  by  the  price  of  grain  and  time  desired 
for  maturity  of  hogs.  I  usually  give  one  bushel  of  ear 
corn  per  day  to  each  30  sows  and  pigs  after  the  pigs  are 
two  months  old.  The  i6-acre  pasture  in  which  the  sows 
and  pigs  ranged  was  mowed  twice  during  the  summer, 
yielding  a  ton  of  cured  hay  at  each  cutting." 

ALFALFA  FOR  HOGS  SHOULD  BE  CUT  EARLY 

It  is  especially  important  that  alfalfa  intended  to  be 
fed  to  hogs  should  be  cut  early.  An  experiment  at  the 
Kansas  station  showed  that  a  ton  of  early  cut  and  well- 
cured  alfalfa  hay,  fed  with  grain,  produced  868  pounds  of 
pork,  while  a  ton  late  cut  and  poorly  cured,  fed  with 
grain,  produced  only  233  pounds.  For  fattening  hogs  it 
is  well  to  feed  about  one  ton  of  well-cured  alfalfa  hay 
with  each  250  bushels  of  grain. 

Farmer's  Bulletin  No.  215  of  the  United  States  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  declares  that  alfalfa  is  an  ideal 
pasture  plant  for  hogs.  "There  is  no  danger  from  bloat 
and  with  a  limited  number  of  hogs  there  is  practically  no 
injury  to  the  alfalfa  field.    Vigorous  alfalfa  will  support 


ALFALFA    FOR    SWINE  221 

15  to  25  pigs  per  acre.  It  is  best  to  limit  the  num- 
ber of  pigs  to  that  which  will  be  insufficient  to  keep 
down  an  alfalfa  held.  Cuttings  of  hay  may  then  be 
made  at  intervals  and  the  growth  thus  rejuvenated.  On 
the  average,  pigs  weighing  30  to  60  pounds  in  the  spring- 
will  make  a  gain  of  about  100  pounds  each  during  the 
season.  Although  pigs  may  be  grown  and  fattened  upon 
alfalfa  alone,  it  is  best  to  combine  the  alfalfa  with  some 
kind  of  a  grain  ration.  Alfalfa  by  itself  is  too  rich  in 
protein  to  give  a  balanced  ration.  Where  pigs  are  pas- 
tured upon  alfalfa  alone  they  may  be  prepared  for  the 
market  by  feeding  for  a  few  weeks  upon  corn.  It  is  still 
better,  however,  to  feed  a  third  to  a  half  of  a  ration  of 
corn  or  other  grain  during  the  time  of  pasturing." 

The  great  mistake  made  by  too  many  who  attempt  to 
pasture  swine  on  alfalfa  is  in  overstocking.  There  is  a 
tendency  to  keep  within  a  small  pasture  more  stock  than 
it  can  comfortably  support,  with  the  result  that  the  al- 
falfa plants  are  gnawed,  trampled  and  rooted  out,  while 
the  animals  fail  to  prosper  as  they  would  under  more 
rational  treatment. 

One  of  the  most  extensive  and  successful  swine  raisers 
in  Kansas  tells  the  author  this:  "Twenty-five  years  of 
pasturing  hogs  of  all  ages  on  alfalfa  has  proven  con- 
clusively to  me  that  a  fourth  to  a  half  grain  ration,  while 
they  are  on  such  pasture,  will  produce  in  them  a  greater 
growth  per  day  than  when  in  dry  lots  on  full  feeds  of 
corn.  Hogs  will  maintain  a  reasonable  growth,  but  not 
fatten  much,  on  alfalfa  pasture  alone;  I  believe  it  profit- 
able to  feed  them  some  grain  while  running  on  green 
alfalfa.     If  it  is  desired  to  full-feed  hogs,  they  will  make 


222 


SWINE  IN   AMERICA 


a  rapid  fattening  growth  from  increasing  the  grain  ra- 
tion while  on  the  pasture,  and  with  the  full  grain  ration 
tlie  meat  will  be  nearly  as  firm  as  that  of  hogs  kept  in  a 
dry  lot,  where  grain  alone  has  been  fed.  I  find  no  dis- 
tinction on  the  market  between  alfalfa-fed  swine  and 
those  purely  grain-fed,  and  they  sell  price  and  price  alike. 
The  general  health  of  the  alfalfa-fed  hogs  is  equal  to 
that  of  those  maintained  on  any  other  feed,  and  they 
are  prolific." 

The  Kansas  station  realized  $11.90  per  acre  from  rape 
pasture  and  $24.10  per  acre  from  alfalfa  pasture  in  98 
days.  These  results  were  obtained  in  the  following  ex- 
periments, begun  July  25  and  concluded  October  31: 

Thirty  pigs,  averaging  52  pounds  in  weight,  were 
divided  as  nearly  equally  as  possible  into  three  lots  of  ten 
each.  Lot  i  was  fed  on  a  grain  mixture  of  one-half 
shorts,  one-fourtli  corn  meal  and  one-fourth  Kafir-corn 
meal,  in  a  dry  lot.  The  other  two  lots  were  fed  the  same 
grain  ration,  but  one  received  rape  pasture  and  the  other 
alfalfa  pasture  in  addition.  Each  lot  was  given  what 
grain  the  hogs  would  eat  up  clean,  and  each  had  access 
to  water  and  ashes.  The  weights  of  grain  consumed 
and  gains  made  are  as  follows : 


Feed 

Grain  consumed 
in  pounds 

Total  gain 
in  pounds 

Grain  consumed 

per  100  pounds  gain 

in  pounds 

I.  No  pasture 

II.  Rape  pasture 

III.  Alfalfa  pasture 

3,801 
3,244 
3,244 

1.023 
1,076 
1.078 

371 
301 
300 

The  gains  of  the  three  lots  are  very  nearly  equal.    The 
dry  lot  consumed  557  pounds  (or  70  pounds  for  every 


ALFALFA    FOR    SWINE  223 

TOO  pounds  of  gain)  more  grain  than  tlie  pasture  lots. 
The  lot  on  rape  required  one  acre  of  pasture,  while  the 
alfalfa  lot  used  a  trifle  less  than  half  an  acre. 

The  lot  without  pasture  required  3.71  pounds  of  grain 
to  produce  one  pound  of  gain.  .Vssigning  the  same  value 
to  the  grain  fed  the  hogs  on  rape  pasture,  we  have  877 
pounds  of  pork  credited  to  the  grain  and  199  pounds 
credited  to  the  rape.  At  6  cents  per  pound,  the  price  at 
which  hogs  were  selling  at  the  close  of  the  experiment, 
this  would  be  a  credit  of  $1 1.90  per  acre  for  the  rape.  In 
a  similar  manner,  the  alfalfa  is  credited  with  201  pounds 
of  pork,  equal  to  $[2.05,  and  as  there  was  only  a  half- 
acre  of  alfalfa,  this  makes  a  rate  of  $24.10  per  acre. 

The  cost  of  preparing  the  seed  l)ed  and  seeding  the 
rape  was  $1.80  per  acre.  It  was  seeded  in  the  feed  lots, 
on  soil  that  would  otherwise  have  remained  idle  or  would 
have  grown  up  to  weeds. 

The  shotes  on  pasture  enjoyed  their  diet  and  seemed 
satisfied.  Those  in  the  dry  lot  apparently  hankered  for 
something  green,  and  their  appetites  seemed  unsatisfied 
without  some  kind  of  roughness.  They  would  even  nibble 
at  straw,  in  a  \ain  attempt  to  satisfy  their  craving. 

"The  experiment,"  says  Prof.  D.  H.  Otis,  "empha- 
sizes the  superior  value  of  alfalfa  pasture.  Where  al- 
falfa is  not  available,  or  where  variety  is  wanted,  or  it  is 
desired  to  utilize  otherwise  waste  land.  Dwarf  Essex 
rape,  seeded  at  the  rate  of  six  to  eight  pounds  per  acre, 
any  time  from  early  spring  to  late  summer,  will  furnish 
an  excellent  diet  that  is  greatly  relished  by  the  hogs." 

J.  E.  Woodford,  of  Coffey  county,  Kansas.  April  i, 
1905,  placed  ten  choice  pure-bred   Poland-China  brood 


224  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

SOWS  from  12  to  18  months  old,  that  were  due  to  farrow 
in  the  latter  days  of  June,  on  a  hve-acre  field  of  alfalfa. 
They  were  given  no  other  feed  than  the  alfalfa  pastur- 
age until  the}-  liad  farrowed  and  their  pigs  were  a  week 
old.  After  that  the  sows  had  in  addition  to  the  alfalfa 
some  bran  slop  until  about  August  20,  when  new  corn 
was  fit  for  feeding.  He  says :  "The  sows  from  the  time 
tliey  were  turned  on  the  alfalfa  until  the  last  week  in 
June  made  a  remarkable  growth,  besides  gaining  some- 
what in  flesh.  They  did  well  with  their  pigs,  reared  an 
average  of  seven  to  each  sow,  and  as  sucklers  they  were 
a  sight  to  see.  The  pigs  were  the  most  attractive  bunch 
ever  raised  in  Cotfey  county,  as  admitted  by  our  breed- 
ing competitors.  We  weighed  a  gilt  from  this  lot  when 
six  months  and  five  days  old,  and  her  weight  of  225 
pounds  was  not  above  the  average  of  the  whole  lot.  In 
our  lifelong  experience  in  rearing  swine  we  have  found 
nothing  as  a  grazing  crop  for  them  that  in  value  ap- 
proaches alfalfa." 

F.  M.  Sumpter,  of  Sumner  county,  Kansas,  tells  the 
author  he  raises  and  markets  500  to  600  hogs  annually. 
These  are  grown  principally  in  his  abundant  alfalfa  pas- 
tures, with  perhaps  an  average  of  an  ear  of  corn  per 
day  until  their  six  weeks'  fattening  is  begun,  when  they 
arc  heavily  fed  with  corn.  The  unique  circumstance 
i:]  connection  with  his  successful  operations  is  that  he 
does  not  stock  his  pastures  heavily  enough  to  prevent 
harvesting  from  them  three  cuttings  of  hay  each  season. 
a^^eraging  a  ton  per  cutting.  The  advantage  he  claims 
for  this  is  that  the  hogs  have  continuously  a  fresh,  ten- 
der growth  to  graze  on   instead  of  the  coarse,  woodv 


ALFALFA    I'OK    SWINE  225 

Stems  they  would  have  before  them  if  no  mowing  was 
done,  while  the  hay  secured  is  as  \'aluable  as  the  same 
quantity  from  meadows  not  used  as  pasture. 

A  plat  of  thrifty,  well-estabhshcd  alfalfa  suitably 
fenced  and  used  for  pasturing  swine  of  whatever  age  can 
scarcely  fall  short  of  being  among  the  most  profitable 
parts  of  any  farm  upon  which  swine  husbandry  is  given 
attention. 

In  the  summer  of  1907  an  agent  of  the  United  States 
agricultural  department  interviewed  "about  150  of  the 
most  successful  swine-growers  and  pork-producers  of 
Kansas  and  Oklahoma  on  the  subject  of  crops  used  for 
feed.  .  .  .  The  main  pasture  crops  for  hogs  in 
this  region  are  alfalfa,  wheat,  oats  and  rye,  ranking  in 
importance  in  the  order  named." 

Bulletin  No.  iii.  Part  IV,  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant 
Industry,  sums  up  what  was  learned  from  the  investiga- 
tions, and  what  it  says  of  alfalfa  is  as  follows: 

AliFALFA   PASTURES 

"It  is  the  testimony  of  95  per  cent  of  the  farmers 
interviewed  in  this  region  that  there  is  no  l^etter  pasture 
for  hogs  than  alfalfa,  where  it  can  be  grown  success- 
fully. Those  who  ha\e  failed  with  it  as  pasture  owe 
their  failure  to  two  causes.  First,  the  alfalfa  has  been 
pastured  before  it  has  become  well  rooted.  Young  al- 
falfa is  too  tender  a  plant  to  stand  severe  treatment  ex- 
cept under  very  favoral)le  circumstances.  There  are  a 
few  farmers  who  have  pastured  it  the  same  year  it  was 
sown  and  the  alfalfa  has  survi\ed,  but  this  was  on  rich, 


226  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

heavy  loam  soil,  usually  creek  bottom  or  river  valley 
land,  with  water  not  far  below  the  surface,  and  the  season 
was  very  favorable.  Ordinarily  alfalfa  should  not  be 
pastured  until  the  second  year,  and  better  still,  not  until 
the  third  year  if  it  is  desired  to  keep  the  field  as  perma- 
nent pasture.  The  second  cause  of  failure  with  alfalfa  is 
heavy  pasturing  and  lack  of  judgment  in  pasturing  in 
unfavorable  seasons.  A  good  many  farmers  have  sown 
a  small  piece  of  alfalfa,  and  then  because  it  has  grown 
rapidly  and  all  kinds  of  stock  are  fond  of  it,  they  have 
turned  all  the  stock  on  the  farm  on  it  and  have  wondered 
why  their  alfalfa  was  killed  out.  Others  pasture  regard- 
less of  whether  the  ground  is  muddy  or  whether  the  sea- 
son is  dry  and  hot.  In  either  case  heavy  pasturing  is 
very  likely  to  cause  the  alfalfa  to  be  killed  out. 

"As  to  the  amount  of  pasturage  or  the  number  of  hogs 
alfalfa  will  carry  per  acre  without  injury  to  the  crop,  the 
estimates  given  by  farmers  vary  considerably,  depending 
on  the  kind  of  soil,  the  fertility  of  the  land,  and  the  size 
of  the  hogs  pastured.  The  following,  however,  is  a  safe 
average  estimate  as  given  by  conservative  men  who  have 
had  much  experience.  River  valley  and  creek  bottom 
land  well  set  in  alfalfa  will  carry  from  15  to  20  head 
per  acre  of  50  to  125  pound  hogs.  Upland  of  fair  aver- 
age fertility  will  support  from  eight  to  ten  head  of  the 
same  kind  of  hogs.  There  are  fields  that  have  supported 
25  head  per  acre  all  through  the  season  for  a  number  of 
years  and  are  still  in  good  condition,  and  there  are  other 
fields  that  will  not  furnish  pasture  for  more  than  five 
head  per  acre ;  but  these  are  extremes.  When  a  field  is 
used  only  for  pasture  it  is  better  to  divide  it  into  several 


ALFALFA    TUK    SWINE  22/ 

lots  and  move  the  hogs  from  one  to  the  other  as  occa- 
sion requires. 

"The  length  of  the  season  durmg  which  this  pasture 
is  furnished  also  varies.  Alfalfa  is  ready  for  pasture  on 
the  average  from  the  middle  of  April  in  southern  Okla- 
homa to  the  middle  of  May  in  northern  Kansas.  In 
many  cases  it  will  do  for  grazing  earlier,  but  it  is  not  best, 
as  the  ycjung  alfalfa  has  not  the  start  it  should  have  for 
heavy  pasturing,  nor  has  it  the  strength  in  the  plant. 
When  not  pastured  too  early  it  will  furnish  feed  at  the 
rate  mentioned  during  nearly  the  whole  season  until 
October  in  the  north  and  November  in  the  south.  In 
some  years  the  pasture  season  will  continue  a  month  later 
in  the  autumn,  depending  on- the  rainfall  and  the  late- 
ness of  cool  weather.  In  some  seasons,  if  the  summer 
is  unusually  dry  and  hot,  the  pasture  will  become  short ; 
but  usually  pasture  for  the  number  of  hogs  previously 
specified  can  be  depended  on  for  about  seven  months  of 
the  year  in  the  southern  limit  of  the  territory  named  and 
for  about  five  months  in  the  northern  limit.  This  rule 
will  apply  to  other  sections  of  the  country  in  the  same 
latitude  as  Oklahoma  and  Kansas.  While  many  farmers 
pasture  alfalfa  fields  to  their  full  capacity,  in  some  sec- 
tions, especially  in  northern  Kansas,  it  is  customary  to 
run  about  half  as  many  hogs  as  the  alfalfa  fields  will 
support.  This  practice  permits  the  cutting  of  the  usual 
number  of  crops  of  hay,  though  the  yield  of  hay  is,  of 
course,  reduced. 

"Alfalfa  not  only  furnishes  a  great  amount  of  pas- 
ture, but  it  is  of  a  character  that  goes  to  make  bone  and 
muscle.     It  belongs  to  the  leguminous  family  of  plants, 


228  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

as  do  the  clovers,  the  cowpea,  the  field  pea,  the  soy  bean, 
and  tlie  vetches,  and  while  it  is  furnishing  this  valuable 
food  it  is  at  the  same  time  adding  fertility  to  the  land. 
Alfalfa  pasture  or  alfalfa  hay  and  corn  are  very  nearly 
a  balanced  ration  for  animals,  and  while  it  is  better  to 
have  a  grain  ration  fed  with  it  to  hogs  as  well  as 
other  animals,  yet  a  healthier,  thriftier  hog  can  be 
raised  on  alfalfa  alone  than  on  corn  alone.  Many 
instances  are  found  where  hogs  have  been  raised  on  al- 
falfa alone.  One  Oklahoma  farmer  marketed  in  De- 
cember, 1905,  61  head  of  spring  pigs  eight  months  old 
that  averaged  171  pounds.  These  hogs  had  run  from 
the  time  they  were  little  pigs  with  their  mothers  on  15 
acres  of  alfalfa  without  any  grain.  They  sold  on  the 
market  for  5>2  cents  a  pound.  This  made  the  cash  value 
of  the  alfalfa  pasture  about  $38.35  per  acre.  As  will  be 
seen,  this  is  light  pasturing,  as  there  were  only  about 
four  pigs  per  acre  besides  the  brood  sows. 

"As  already  stated,  it  is  much  better  economy  to  fur- 
nish a  grain  ration  with  the  pasture,  as  it  results  in  better 
gains  and  a  better  product.  One  man  estimates  that 
it  takes  from  one-half  to  one-third  less  corn  on  alfalfa 
pasture  than  on  a  straight  grain  ration  to  make  a  hog 
ready  for  market.  Many  let  the  hogs  run  on  alfalfa 
until  about  five  to  six  months  old,  by  which  time  they 
reach  a  weight  of  75  to  125  pounds,  feeding  just  a  little 
grain ;  then  they  feed  heavily  for  about  two  months  and 
sell  the  hogs  at  eight  months  old  weighing  200  to  225 
pounds.  One  farmer,  who  raises  about  a  thousand 
hogs  a  year  and  who  in  one  year  sold  $11,200  worth, 
makes  a  practice  of  growing  his  hogs  on  alfalf?,  pasture 


ALI-ALIA    i'OR    SWINE  229 

until  about  eight  months  old.  feeding  one  ear  of  corn  per 
head  daily.  He  then  feeds  heavily  on  corn  for  a  month 
or  two  and  sells  at  an  average  weight  of  200  to  225 
pounds.  Another  man  feeds  all  the  corn  and  slop  the 
pigs  will  clean  up,  all  the  while  grazing  them  on  alfalfa 
pasture,  and  sells  at  six  to  eight  months  old  at  weights  of 
250  to  300  pounds.  Another,  who  raises  about  a  thou- 
sand head  a  year,  feeds  all  the  corn  the  pigs  will  eat,  be- 
ginning shortly  after  weaning  and  continuing  until  the 
hogs  are  sold  at  ten  to  1 1  months  old,  averaging  about 
275  pounds. 

"  "Still  another  farmer,  from  weaning  time  (two 
months  old)  until  eight  months  old,  feeds  the  pigs  noth- 
ing but  dry  corn  on  alfalfa  pasture,  averaging  about  one- 
half  gallon  of  corn  (3^^  pounds)  a  day  per  head.  At  the 
end  of  eight  months  he  sells  at  an  average  weight  of 
250  pounds.  Feeding  the  above  quantity  of  corn  a  day 
makes  about  ii/4  bushels  per  head.  Figuring  this  at 
the  average  price  of  corn  in  this  locality,  35  cents,  and 
the  price  received  for  pork,  53^  cents,  the  following- 
results  will  show  the  cost  of  growing  pork  on  this  farm 
and  the  value  of  alfalfa  pasture: 

Value  of  250-pound  hog,  at  5K  cents $i3-75 

Value  of  pig  at  weaning,  50  pounds,  at  5>^  cents     2.75 

Gain  from  pasture  and  grain $1  i.oo 

Cost  of  iiM  bushels  of  corn,  at  35  cents $3-93 

Value  of  pasture  per  head  pastured $7-07 

"Xow,  compare  these  results  with  those  of  a  man  who 
had  to  depend  on  other  pasture  crops  than  alfalfa.    He 


230  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

estimates  that  it  wiJ]  take  15  bushels  of  corn  on  wheat, 
oats,  and  rye  pasture  to  raise  and  fatten  a  hog  so  it  will 
weigh  240  pounds  at  nine  months  old,  besides  the  pasture 
and  slop.  At  the  price  of  corn  mentioned,  35  cents  a 
bushel,  and  with  hogs  at  5>4  cents  a  pound,  note  the  cost 
of  producing  pork  on  this  farm  : 

Value  of  240-pound  hog,  at  5>^  cents $13.20 

Value  of  pig  at  weaning,  50  pounds,  at  5>4  cents     2.75 


Gain  from  pasture  and  grain $10.45 

Cost  of  15  bushels  of  corn,  at  35  cents $5-25 


Value  of  pasture  per  head  pastured $5-20 

"The  pasture  specified  here  will  not  support  more  than 
half  as  many  head  per  acre  on  this  farm  by  feeding  corn 
all  the  time.  The  value  of  this  pasture  is  only  $5.20  per 
head,  against  $7.07  per  head  for  alfalfa  pasture  on  the 
other  farm.  The  experiences  of  these  men  are  sufficient 
to  show  the  value  of  alfalfa  pasture  alone,  and  its  greater 
value  when  grain  is  fed  in  connection,  and  that  it  is  an 
important  factor  in  economical  pork  production. 

ALFALFA  HAY 

"While  alfalfa  pasture  has  been  found  to  be  very 
valuable  for  hogs,  the  hay  as  a  part  ration  for  winter  is 
scarcely  less  important.  Throughout  the  region  referred 
to  the  farmers  are  feeding  the  hay  to  hogs  in  winter. 
Many  feed  the  hay  by  throwing  it  on  the  ground  in 
forkfuls;  others  have  made  low  racks  in  which  the  hay 


ALFALFA   FOR  SWINE  23 1 

is  placed,  where  the  hogs  can  feed  Hke  cattle  or  sheep. 
The  hay  has  been  found  to  be.  especially  valuable  for 
brood  sows  before  farrowing.  Where  it  is  fed  during 
tlie  w  inter  only  a  small  grain  ration  is  necessary  to  keep 
the  sows  in  good  tlesh  and  in  healthy  condition.  Sows 
tluis  fed  also  farrow  good  litters  of  strong,  healthy  pigs. 

"To  hogs  alfalfa  hay  is  usually  fed  dry.  The  leaves 
are  more  readily  eaten  than  the  stems,  as  they  contain 
more  of  the  nutritive  value  of  the  plant.  For  this  reason 
some  farmers  save  the  last  cutting  of  hay  for  the  hogs 
because  it  is  more  relished.  It  is  eaten  up  cleaner,  as 
the  stems  are  not  so  woody,  and  more  food  value  is 
found  in  the  leaves.  Sometimes  the  hay  is  cut  up  fine, 
wet,  and  mixed  with  other  feed,  and  sometimes  it  is  fed 
ground,  as  there  are  now  alfalfa  mills  scattered  through- 
out the  alfalfa  regions.  But  it  is  very  doubtful  whether 
this  extra  expense  will  pay,  unless  it  be  for  a  ration  for 
young  pigs. 

"To  a\'oid  the  expense  of  chopping,  dialing  or  grind- 
ing, some  farmers,  in  order  to  get  the  hay  all  eaten,  have 
soaked  it  in  water  and  fed  it.  This  has  proved  very 
satisfactory  where  tried.  One  Oklahoma  farmer  carried 
his  hogs  tin-ough  a  winter  by  feeding  them  alfalfa  leaves 
soaked  in  hot  water  for  one  day  and  the  next  day  shorts 
mixed  with  the  pulp  and  water.  He  feeds  much  alfalfa 
hay  to  his  hogs  and  is  very  successful  with  them.  He  puts 
the  last  cutting  in  shock  as  soon  as  wilted,  and  thus  cures 
it  without  ])leaching  and  feeds  it  to  his  hogs.  Another 
farmer  carried  his  entire  herd  of  hogs  through  the  win- 
ter by  feeding  them  the  pulp  of  alfalfa  hay  after  soaking 
it  in  water  overnight.     He  also  gave  them  water  to 


2^2  SWIXE   IN    AAIERICA 

drink.  This  was  all  the  feed  they  had  during  the  winter, 
and  they  were  in  good*  flesh  in  the  spring,  with  smooth, 
glossy  coats  oi  hair.  A  Kansas  farmer  was  feeding  a 
bunch  of  50  fall  pigs  on  corn;  during  the  winter  they 
got  off  feed  and  were  not  thrifty.  He  reduced  the  corn 
and  gave  a  ration  of  two-thirds  chopped  alfalfa  hay  and 
one-third  corn  meal,  the  two  soaked  together.  The  hogs 
began  to  do  better,  and  a  little  later  he  changed  the  ration 
to  one-third  alfalfa  and  two-thirds  corn.  The  results 
were  very  satisfactory,  and  the  cost  of  feed  was  reduced 
from  $15  a  month  on  corn  to  $9  a  month  on  alfalfa  and 
corn.  So  alfalfa  hay,  as  well  as  pasture,  has  a  very  im- 
portant use  on  a  hog  farm." 

Prof.  H.  R.  Smith  of  the  Nebraska  station  says: 
"I  cannot  recommend  too  strongly  the  feeding  of  good 
alfalfa  hay  to  any  kind  of  swine.  It  not  only  furnishes 
protein,  or  flesh-making  material,  which  is  deficient  in 
corn,  but  it  tends  to  offset  the  heavy  character  of  a  ra- 
tion consisting  of  corn  alone.  Some  scatter  the  hay  on 
the  ground,  but  it  is  better  to  construct  some  sort  of  a 
rack  through  whicli  the  hogs  can  pull  the  hay  without 
trampling  too  much  under  foot.  If  the  feeder  has  a 
cutting  machine  it  might  be  well  to  cut  the  alfalfa  and 
mix  it  with  the  grain.  For  fattening  purposes  do  not 
make  this  cut  alfalfa  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  en- 
tire grain  ration  by  weight,  and  I  would  be  inclined  to 
believe  that  one-fifth  alfalfa  would  be  better." 

Swine  raisers  in  the  alfalfa  growing  sections  fre- 
quently make  the  claim  that  cholera  is  unknown  where 
alfalfa  flourished  most,  and  that  hogs  given  all  the  alfalfa 
they   will   eat   in   a   properly   balanced   ration,    develop 


ALFALFA    FOR    SWINE  233 

greater  vitality  and  ability  to  resist  disease  than  would 
otherwise  be  the  case.  In  commenting  upon  this,  Henry 
Wallace  gives  the  following  as  a  result  of  investiga- 
tions made  of  methods  of  raising  hogs  in  the  Platte  val- 
ley of  Missouri  : 

"The  brood  sows  are  kept  through  the  winter  on  a 
ration  of  five  pounds  of  chopped  alfalfa  hay  and  one 
pound  of  corn.  The  summer  feed  of  sows  and  pigs  is 
from  one  to  one  and  one-half  pounds  of  corn  per  day  and 
as  much  alfalfa  as  they  care  to  eat.  Hogs  grown  in  this 
way  do  not  make  as  rapid  gains  as  are  made  with  a 
heavier  corn  ration,  the  gain  being  about  one-sixth 
pound  per  day  for  the  first  200  or  250  days,  the  cost 
])eing-  not  far  from  two  cents  per  pound,  with  corn  at  40 
cents  per  bushel. 

"What  particularly  impressed  us,  however,  with  hogs 
grown  in  this  way,  was  the  tendency  to  differentiate  in 
type  from  those  grown  under  the  conditions  prevailing 
in  Iowa  and  Illinois  and  the  clover  country  of  Kansas 
and  Nebraska.  These  hogs  are  longer  in  the  body,  set 
up  a  little  liiglier  on  their  legs,  partake  somewhat  of  the 
bacon  type,  and  unquestionably  have  much  greater  vital- 
ity and  disease-resisting  power.  It  will  not  be  a  g-reat 
while  until  the  term  "alfalfa"  hog  means  a  different  type 
from  that  grown  east.  In  fact,  we  believe  in  time  to 
come,  when  the  railroads  master  the  problem  of  trans- 
l)orting  hogs  without  danger  of  contagion,  that  quite  a 
per  cent  of  the  hogs  of  the  country  will  be  grown  west 
of  the  corn  belt,  where  alfalfa  thrives  better,  and  shipped 
east  to  cattle  feeders  and  farmers  who  have  more  corn 
than  hogs.     These  hogs,  when  put  on  a  heavy  corn  diet, 


234  SWINE   IX    AMERICA 

whether  on  an  alfalfa  farm  or  elsewhere,  make  very 
rapid  gains,  and  we  believe  will  make  better  use  of  corn 
than  hogs  grown  on  a  corn  ration.  In  fact,  we  are  very 
sure  of  this.  Theoretically  it  can  be  no  other  way.  \\'e 
found  indications  too,  that  hogs  grown  on  alfalfa  have 
much  greater  power  to  resist  cholera  than  those  grown 
on  corn  and  subjected  to  the  same  disease  under  the  same 
conditions.  Theoretically  this  should  be  true,  and  we 
believe  experience  will  prove  it." 

A  SOILING   TEST  IN  3nSSOURI 

The  Missouri  station  (Bulletin  No.  79)  made  a  test 
covering  102  days — from  July  25  to  November  4 — with 
-lots  of  six  50-pound  high-grade  Poland-China  pigs,  to 
compare  the  value  of  various  forage  plants,  especiallv 
fresh  rape,  alfalfa,  red  clover  and  blue  grass,  when  com- 
bined with  corn,  or  rather  corn  meal,  for  growing  and 
fattening  hogs.  The  pigs  were  kept  in  clean  pens  having 
shelter  from  the  sun,  and  floored  with  granitoid.  Their 
feed  and  deep  well  water  were  given  them  morning  and 
evening,  and  salt  mixed  with  wood  ashes  and  a  little 
bone  meal  was  always  within  reach.  The  green  feed  was 
cut  and  hauled  to  the  pens  fresh  and  all  given  that  they 
would  eat  without  waste.  The  corn  meal  was  of  me- 
dium fineness  and  fed  wet  to  the  consistency  of  a  thick 
dough.  Gain  on  the  pigs  given  alfalfa  cost  $3  per  hun- 
dred pounds;  on  those  given  clover,  $3.25;  on  those 
having  blue  grass,  $3.96.  The  same  pigs  in  the  first  40 
days  of  the  same  experiment  had  among  them  one  lot  of 
six  which  were  fed  green  rape  with  the  corn  meal  ration. 
In  this  40  days  the  cost  per  hundred  pounds  of  gain  was 


ALFALFA    FOR    SWINE  235 

thus;  From  the  pigs  having  rape,  $3.34;  clover,  $2.89; 
blue  grass,  %Tf.2y;  alfalfa,  $2.59. 

Director  Waters  says:  "The  superiority  of  alfalfa 
over  red  clover,  as  shown  by  this  experiment,  means  a 
difference,  on  the  basis  of  a  250-poun(l  hog.  of  623^ 
cents,  or  about  ^T,y  on  each  carload  of  hogs,  or  more 
than  enough  to  pay  the  freight,  even  if  the  yield  of  the 
two  crops  is  to  be  counted  the  same.  Of  more  impor- 
tance than  the  superiority  of  the  feeding  value  itself  is 
the  fact  that  the  alfalfa  will  yield  a  much  larger  amount 
of  pasturage  than  will  red  clover,  and  that  it  will  come 
on  earlier  and  remain  green  later  than  the  clover,  and 
will,  if  kept  clipped,  remain  green  throughout  the  sum- 
mer and,  therefore,  aft'ord  a  green  pasture  of  succulent 
material  which  the  hogs  will  relish  most  highly.  It  is 
believed  to  be  possible  to  grow  enough  alfalfa  for  hog 
])asture  at  least  on  practically  every  farm  in  Missouri. 

"It  is  not  safe  or  even  desirable,  however,  to  rely  upon 
a  single  crop,  excepting  alfalfa  where  it  is  an  assured 
success,  to  furnish  pasture  for  hogs  throughout  the  en- 
tire season.  It  is  better  to  arrange  for  a  succession  of 
pastures  from  the  beginning  of  the  season  until  the  hogs 
are  ready  for  market,  making  the  feed  richer  and  more 
concentrated  toward  the  close  of  the  season  and  as  we 
approach  the  finishing  or  fattening  period.  For  this 
purpose  red  clover  or  alfalfa,  cowpeas  and  soy  beans  are 
recommended." 

One  of  the  greatest  advantages  of  alfalfa  as  a  hog 
pasture  is  the  fact  that  it  affords  a  fresh  growth  through- 
out the  grazing  season.  The  pasture  should  be  mowed 
at  least  three  times  each  season,  thus  taking  off  all  the 


236  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

nialured  stems  ar.d  giving  opportunity  for  tlie  sending  up 
of  a  new,  tender  growth,  just  the  (juahty  the  hog  dehglits 
to  feed  on.  It  is  this  new,  fresh  grow'th  that  makes 
alfalfa  pasture  so  generally  preferred  by  the  hog  and  so 
liighly  satisfactory  as  a  flesh  former.  The  hog  wants 
fresh  pasture.  He  does  not  graze  like  the  horse,  cow  or 
sheep,  but  is  best  suited  when  he  can  bite  off  a  fresh 
clover  bloom  or  a  sprig  of  alfalfa,  and  does  not  from 
choice  like  to  feed  on  a  thick,  heavy-coated  blue  grass 
sod.  He  objects  to  moldy,  wet  or  soured  grasses,  such 
as  the  blue  grass  and  white  clover  pastures  so  frequently 
afford  when  not  closely  grazed. 

In  justice  to  all,  to  the  author  no  less  than  his  readers, 
it  should  be  stated  in  passing  that  if  after  what  has  been 
said  in  this  chapter  anyone  supposes  that  pigs  pastured 
on  alfalfa  or  fed  alfalfa  hay.  without  other  feed,  grow 
fat  and  maintain  a  show  condition  he  has  been  misled. 
Alfalfa,  clover,  grass  or  any  other  forage  will  not  make 
swine  fat,  but  alfalfa  will  cause  pigs  to  grow  and  de- 
velop framework  as  rapidly  and  inexpensively  as  any 
other  pasturage,  and  in  most  instances  more  rapidly. 
This  volume  is  not  intentionally  advocating  any  one  for- 
age plant  or  grain  alone  as  a  sufficient  or  satisfactory 
animal  ration  for  fattening,  or  even  for  the  most  rapid 
growth. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Succulent  and  Bulky  Feeds 

The  value  of  succulence  is  recognized  by  every  ex- 
perienced swine  feeder,  and  is  to  be  taken  into  consid- 
eration, whether  the  animal  is  destined  for  breeding  pnr- 
p(jses,  the  pork  barrel  or  the  packing  house.  In  the 
warmer  montlis  this  is  largely  provided  by  pasturage,  to 
which  a  preceding  chapter  is  devoted.  All  succulence  is 
relished  by  swine  fed  upon  grain  or  concentrated  feeds, 
to  which  it  adds  variety,  pleasing  as  well  as  wholesome. 
In  a  broad  way,  any  green,  fresh  or  juicy  food  may  be 
classed  as  succulent,  and  the  term  is  used  to  comprehend 
practically  all  edible  plants  or  vegetable  materials  that 
have  not  been  in  some  way  cured  or  preserved,  and  their 
juicy  freshness  thereby  dissipated.  This  succulence,  in 
moderation,  is  a  desired  and  valuable  factor  at  all  times, 
Ijut  of  less  importance  when  forcing  the  fattening  hog 
to  a  quick  finish  than  it  is  for  economical  growth 
or  for  keeping  the  ])reeding  animal  in  good  con- 
dition. Watery  feeds,  such  as  beets,  have  a  loosening 
or  relaxing  effect  on  the  flesh.  They  are  excellent 
for  the  brood  sow  toward  the  time  of  pigging,  for 
they  promote  an  easier  farrowing  by  overcoming  the 
lense  condition  of  the  nmscles  that  results  from  a 
dry  grain  diet.  Succulence  is  of  value  for  its  bal- 
ancing effect  against  dry,  concentrated  feeds,  for  its 
general  tunic  or  correcti\-e  (|nalitics.  and  in  stimulating 


238  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

the  appetite  for  more  satisfactory  consumption  of  other 
feeding  stiiifs.  Anything  which  furnishes  it  naturally  is 
of  special  worth  when  unusually  dry  conditions  prevail, 
for  at  such  a  time  it  may  afford  the  tonic  needed  to  ward 
oft'  sickness  to  which  hogs  subsisted  almost  entirely  on 
dry  or  concentrated  feeds  are  liable. 

BUIiKY  FEEDS 

The  hog  requires  but  a  limited  quantity  of  bulky  food, 
and  that  mainly  to  aid  in  the  easier  or  more  thorough 
digestion  of  concentrated  foods  of  a  fat-making  nature, 
usually  furnished  dry.  This  bulk  should  be  of  a  pala- 
table, succulent  character,  such  for  example  as  is  typical 
of  sugar  beets  and  pumpkins,  which  afford  appetizing 
variety  along  with  an  appreciable  degree  of  nutrition. 
The  fact  should  not  be  lost  sight  of,  however,  that  the 
mistake  of  giving  the  hog  too  much  bulk  is  more  prob- 
able than  would  be  the  case  with  larger  animals.  An 
excess  in  this  direction  is  liable  to  enlarge  the  stomach  or 
intestines  at  the  expense  of  other  desirable  growth. 

USE  OF  ROOTS 

Roots  are  mainly  desirable  because  of  their  stored  suc- 
culence, available  in  winter,  when  otherwise  difficult  to 
obtain.  Their  utilization  has  not  been  so  general  in  the 
United  States  as  abroad  and  in  Canada,  but  of  late  years 
they  have  increased  in  favor,  and  their  place  in  feeding, 
especially  in  the  corn  belt  of  America,  is  being  better 
recognized.     Sugar  beets  particularly  are  in  favor,  prob- 


SUCCULENT    AND    BULKY    FEEDS 


239 


ably  as  a  result,  in  part  at  least,  of  the  numerous  experi- 
ments made  primarily  with  a  view  to  encouraging  the  es- 
tablishment of  sugar  factories,  in  connection  with  nearly 
all  of  which  some  beets  were  fed  to  hogs  or  other  stock. 
The  mangel-wurzel,  rutabaga,  turnip  and  carrot  are  also 
used. 

Kxperiments  have  been  conducted  to  register  the  value 
of  roots  as  aids  to  the  digestion  and  assimilation  of  food 
as  well  as  to  discover  the  nutrients  they  supply.  The  tend- 
ency has  been  to  give  the  greatest  credit  to  their  value 
as  accessories,  although  in  discussing  root  crops  in  "Feeds 
and  Feeding"  Prof.  Henry  says,  "the  digestible  nutrients 
yielded  by  each  crop  are  the  true  measure  of  its  value 
to  the  farmer."  Taking  yields  reported  at  the  Ontario 
agricultural  college  (Report  of  1896)  from  tests  cover- 
ing five  or  six  years.  Prof.  Henry  has  reduced  root  crops 
to  an  estimated  yield  of  digestible  nutrients  as  shown  in 
the  following: 


ESTIMATED    YIELD    OF    DIGESTIBLE    NUTRIENTS    PER    ACRE    IN 
ROOT  CROPS 


Yield  per  acre. 

Dry 

tnatttr. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Ether 
extract. 

Pounds 
6,384 
4,368 
4,370 
4,560 
4,590 

Pounds 
448 
528 
460 
400 
374 

Pound's 
4,368 
2.592 
3,312 
3,240 
3.468 

Pounds 
112 

48 

92 

20  tons  rutabagas  (Swedes) 

80 
34 

The  mangel  contains  less  dry  matter  than  other  roots, 
but  is  in  favor  because  of  its  heavy  yield  and  its  less  cost 
of  harvesting,  which  is  generally  estimated  to  be  about 
half  that  of  sugar  beets.    Comparative  experiments  were 


240  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

made  in  1890  by  the  New  York  (Cornell)  station  (Bul- 
letin No.  25)  with  sugar  beets  and  mangels  as  grown  for 
live  stock.  The  beets  and  mangels  were  given  the  same 
care,  cultivation  and  fertilizing  that  would  ordinarily  be 
given  a  farmer's  root  crop.  Test  weights  gave  a  yield 
of  23.1  tons  of  sugar  beets  per  acre  and  31.4  tons  for 
mangels.  The  yield  of  dry  matter  per  acre  was  found 
about  equal,  so  the  conclusion  reached  was  that  "the 
difficulty  in  starting  and  in  harvesting  the  sugar  beets 
becomes  the  main  difference  in  raising  the  two  crops.  It 
requires  fully  twice  the  labor  to  harvest  the  sugar  beets, 
so  that  it  would  seem  clear  that,  if  roots  are  to  be  raised 
for  stock,  so  far  as  yield  per  acre  is  concerned,  mangels 
are  much  to  be  preferred  to  sugar  beets." 

COMPARATIVE  VALUE  OF  ROOTS 

The  comparative  feeding  value  of  roots  most  com- 
monly used  for  swine  was  tested  in  1901  at  the  Central 
experimental  farm  of  Canada.  Four  lots  of  four  pigs 
each  were  fed  respectively  on  turnips,  mangels  and 
sugar  beets,  the  beets  fed  to  one  lot  being  grown  for  for- 
age and  to  another  lot  beets  as  grown  for  sugar  produc- 
t'um.  Each  pig  was  given  all  the  pulped  roots  he  would 
eat  and  in  addition  daily  three  pounds  of  skim  milk  and 
a  meal  mixture  of  one-half  corn  and  one-sixth  part  each 
of  oats,  barley  and  peas.  The  results  of  the  experiment 
r Annual  report  of  Canadian  experimental  farms,  1901) 
are  shown  on  the  next  page. 

In  arriving  at  costs  of  the  gain  the  meal  was  valued 
at  90  cents  and  the  skim  milk  at  20  cents  per  100  pounds, 


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242  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

with  the  following  prices  for  roots :  Turnips  and  man- 
gels, 10  cents,  and  sugar  beets,  both  kinds,  15  cents  per 
hundredweight.  The  results  on  the  cai;casses  were  gen- 
erally favorable.  Commenting  on  this,  Rommel  says 
(  Bulletin  No.  47,  Part  II,  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry, 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture)  :  "The  results  are  re- 
markably low  in  feed  requirements  and  would  seem  to 
show  that  roots  and  milk  may  be  more  advantageously 
combined  than  pasture  and  milk." 

ROOTS   AND   GRAIN 

Experiments  at  the  Indiana,  Utah  and  Montana  sta- 
tions, and  at  the  Ontario  agricultural  college  in  feeding 
roots  against  grain,  to  swine,  have  Ijeen  summarized  com- 
paratively in  the  bulletin  cited  above,  as  shown  in  the 
table  on  page  243. 

In  the  Indiana  experiments  (Bulletins  Nos.  79  and  82) 
the  grain  ration  was  given  as  slop  and  was  composed  of 
one  part  corn  meal  and  two  parts  shorts,  with  water,  salt 
and  ashes  available.  Mangels  were  used  in  the  first 
experiment,  and  in  the  second  sugar  beets  were  sliced 
and  fed  in  the  slop.  Conclusions  were  summarized  as 
follows :  "Roots  in  some  form  are  a  desirable  food  for 
pigs  in  winter,  as  an  addition  to  the  grain  ration,  in  pro- 
moting healthful  activity  of  the  digestive  organs  and 
in  acting  as  an  appetizer.  Sugar  beets,  artichokes  or 
carrots  would  no  doubt  serve  this  purpose  better  than 
mangels.  They  are  more  expensive  in  view  of  greater 
cost  of  production,  but  this  difference  is  not  important. 
They,   however,   contain   enough  more   sugar  to   make 


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244 


SWINE   IN    AMERICA 


ihcni  somewhat  more  relished  by  the  pigs  than  are  the 
mangels.  .  .  .  Mangels  are  not  so  desirable  a  food 
as  sugar  beets,  as  they  are  less  nutritious,  sugary  and 
tender.  The  great  advantage  in  growing  mangels  lies 
in  the  large  yield  per  acre.  Sugar  beets,  however,  are 
relished  by  all  farm  animals,  and  to  a  greater  extent  than 
are  mangels,  especially  by  pigs.  ...  If  the  brood  sows 
had  been  fed  with  sugar  beets  it  would  have  been  to 
their  material  advantage." 

In  experiments  reported  in  the  following  table  from 
the  Ontario  agricultural  college  (Annual  Report  1901) 
the  grain  ration  in  the  first  comparison  was  barley  and 
middlings,  and  corn  and  middlings  in  the  second ;  for 
roots  all  lots  were  given  pulped  mangels : 


TABLE  SHOWING  GAINS  AND  DRY  MATTER   CONSUMED  PER 
100  POUNDS  OF  GAIN 


Groups. 

Total  weight 
October  23. 

Total  weight 
May  7. 

Average  daily 
gain  per  hog. 

Dry  matter 
consumed  per 
100  lbs.  gain. 

Experiment  A 
Group  1,  4  hogs;      barley 

and  middlings 

Group  2,  4  hogs;     barley, 

middlings  and  roots. 

Experiment  B 
Group  3,  5  hogs ;  corn  and 

Pounds 

169 
168 

276 
276 

Pounds 

670 
S40 

1,020 

Pounds 

.639 
.857 

.677 
.757 

Pounda 

439.22 
380.15 

424   55 

Group  4,  5  hogs ;  corn  mid- 
dlings and  roots 

403.74 

The  main  points  brought  out  by  these  tests  were :  "The 
feeding  of  equal  weights  of  roots  and  meal  gave  more 
rapid  and  more  economical  gains  than  the  feeding  of 
meal   alone.     The   hogs    fed    roots   produced   bacon  of 


SUCCULENT    AND    BULKY    FEEDS  -'45 

quality  superior  to  those  which  were  not  fed  roots. 
There  was  a  marked  difference,  however,  between  the 
hogs  which  received  roots  and  those  which  did  not  in  each 
experiment.  Those  which  were  fed  roots  were  much 
more  growthy  and  thrifty  looking  than  the  others,  and 
siiowed  less  tendency  to  become  fat.  In  fact,  it  was 
found  necessary  to  reduce  the  proportion  of  roots  toward 
the  close  of  the  experiments  in  order  to  get  these  hogs 
fat  enough.  It  is  possible,  therefore,  that  the  roots  had 
a  beneficial  effect  upon  the  digestive  organs  of  the  ani- 
mals, causing  them  to  digest  their  food  better  than  did 
the  others,  for  there  is  little  doubt  that  hogs  confined 
closely  in  pens  are  likely  to  suffer  from  indigestion." 

In  the  Montana  experiments  oats,  barley  and  dam- 
aged wheat  were  furnished  with  and  without  sugar  beets, 
and  comment  was  made  on  the  results  oljtained,  thus : 
"We  have  found  that  pigs  soon  become  very  fond  of 
sugar  beets ;  that  beets  can  be  used  to  good  advantage 
raw;  and  that  there  is  no  advantage  to  be  derived  from 
cooking  them.  They  should  not,  however,  be  used  in 
larger  quantities  than  from  two  to  2/<2  pounds  per  day 
to  a  r 50-pound  animal.  If  given  too  freely  they  have 
a  too  laxative  effect  and  cause  some  loss  of  the  grain. 
They  have  given  us  good  results  when  fed  in  larger 
quantities  to  store  (lean)  hogs  receiving  very  little  grain 
during  the  winter.  In  this  way  store  hogs  can  be  win- 
tered very  cheaply  and  they  will  come  out  in  good 
thrifty  condition.  Their  value  extends  also  to  the  brood 
sow ;  we  have  for  several  years  made  sugar  beets  a  part 
of  her  ration.    They  have  a  tendency  to  prevent  a  torpid 


240  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

condition  of  the  digestive  tract,  render  parturition  eas- 
ier, increase  the  flow  of  milk  and  aid  in  the  production 
of  a  more  vigorous  offspring.  It  is  necessary,  however, 
to  observe  the  precaution  not  to  give  beets  except  in 
small  quantities  to  the  sow  during  the  first  week  after 
farrowing.  They  are  liable  to  affect  the  milk,  causing 
bowel  trouble  among  the  young  pigs. 

"What  has  been  said  of  sugar  beets  will  apply  in  very 
much  the  same  way  to  mangels  and  carrots.  The  food 
value  of  all  three  for  swine  is  very  much  the  same.  It 
can  be  said  of  carrots,  however,  that  they  are  very  much 
more  expensive  than  either  sugar  beets  or  mangels,  ow- 
ing to  the  labor  involved  in  giving  them  the  proper  culti- 
vation and  the  difficulty  found  in  harvesting.  Under 
conditions  frequently  found  in  Montana  the  sugar  beet 
is  preferable  to  the  mangel  for  the  reason  that  it  keeps 
much  better  during  the  winter  season.  The  mangel, 
which  projects  above  the  ground  with  a  sparse  top  for  a 
covering,  is  frequently  touched  by  an  early  frost,  and 
then  will  not  keep  well.  As  the  sugar  beet  makes  its 
growth  within  the  ground  and  the  crown  is  well  covered 
with  leaves,  early  frosts,  even  severe  ones,  will  not  do 
any  damage.  During  the  last  two  years  we  have  had 
sugar  beets  to  feed  as  late  as  the  middle  of  June.  The 
argument  against  the  use  of  roots  is  that  they  are  ex- 
pensive to  raise.  On  the  average  farm  only  a  very 
small  area  is  required  to  produce  an  abundance  of  pig 
feed.  One  acre  will  produce,  at  a  fair  average,  not  less 
than  ten  to  12  tons  of  beets,  and  these,  if  properly  treat- 
ed, will  not  cost  more  than  $25  per  acre.  They  are  in 
realit}^  one  of  the  most  economical  foods." 


SUCCULENT    AND    BULKY    FEEDS  J47 

Results  from  the  Montana  experiments  would  ap- 
pear to  account  for  those  of  an  unsatisfactory  nature 
from  the  use  of  sugar  beets  in  the  Indiana  trials,  in  which 
roots  may  ha\'e  been  furnished  too  abundantly.  The 
net  profit  per  head  in  the  experiments  at  the  Montana 
station  was  $2.28  when  sugar  beets  were  combined  with 
grain,  against  $1.80  when  grain  alone  was  used.  Fur- 
ther experiments  at  the  Montana  station  (Bulletin  No. 
T,"/)  returned  a  very  striking  financial  gain  from  the  use 
of  sugar  beets,  which  was  reported  as  follows:  "In  the 
spring  of  1902  two  lots  of  four  pigs  each  were  fed  for 
50  days,  one  on  an  exclusive  grain  ration,  the  other 
receiving  both  grain  and  sugar  beets,  with  the  following 
results:  The  four  hogs  receiving  grain  made  an  in- 
crease of  316  pounds,  or  79  pounds  each,  a  daily  gain 
of  1.58  pounds.  The  cost  per  pound  c^f  increase  on  this 
lot  was  4.6  cents.  The  four  hogs  receiving  grain  and 
sugar  beets  made  an  increase  of  328  pounds,  or  82 
pounds  each,  a  daily  average  of  1.64  pounds.  The  cost 
was  3.8  cents  per  pound.  The  former  lot  received  a 
heavy  grain  ration  of  9. 11  pounds  each  \)Q\-  day.  The 
latter  consumed  6.65  pounds  of  grain  and  4.58  pounds 
of  sugar  beets  per  head  daily.  The  financial  outcome 
of  this  test  resulted  in  a  net  profit  of  $14.12,  or  33  per 
cent  on  the  investment  in  50  days." 

ROOTS  AND  BACON 

It  is  evident  that  roots  have  a  special  value  in  Ameri- 
can territory  outside  the  corn  belt,  and  in  these  sections 
the  feeding  material  availal)le  tends  to  encourage  swine 
raising   for  bacon  production.  In  the  northern  and  west- 


24S  SVVIiXE   1\    AAIERICA 

ern  sections  the  sugar  beet  industry  has  led  to  more  ex- 
tensive use  of  that  root  for  all  classes  of  stock,  and  in 
some  sections  beets  are  freely  used  where  other  roots 
were  little  known  in  feeding.  Roots  make  an  acceptable 
combination  with  wheat,  barley  or  any  other  grain  than 
corn,  and  their  effect  upon  bacon  production  has  been 
found  beneficial. 

Experiments  corroborating  this  have  been  extensively 
conducted  in  Canada,  and  in  the  compilation  on  "Bacon 
Production"  by  Professor  G.  E.  Day,  published  by  the 
Ontario  Department  of  Agriculture  (Bulletin  No.  129, 
Ontario  agricultural  college),  the  influence  of  roots  upon 
the  firmness  of  bacon  is  pronounced  extremely  satisfac- 
tory. The  bulletin  gives  the  following  summary  of  re- 
sults from  feeding  with  roots  for  bacon  production : 

"Hogs  seem  to  prefer  sugar  beets  to  almost  any  other 
roots.  Some  difference  of  opinion  exists  as  to  the  quan- 
tity of  roots  that  may  be  fed  v/ith  profit  to  hogs.  They 
should  be  given  in  limited  quantity  to  small  pigs,  but 
pigs  weighing  over  100  pounds  live  weight  will,  in  some 
cases,  take  five  or  six  times  as  much  roots  as  meal,  by 
weight,  and  make  very  good  gains.  We  have  obtained 
our  best  results,  however,  from  feeding  equal  parts  by 
weight  of  roots  and  meal.  The  proportion  of  roots  may 
be  increased  considerably,  if  thought  advisable,  as  the 
hogs  advance  in  weight.  In  all  our  experiments  we  have 
obtained  very  satisfactory  results  from  root  feeding,  so 
far  as  firmness  of  bacon  is  concerned.  Though  not  quite 
so  high  in  feeding  value  for  hogs,  mangels  compare  very 
fa\'orably  with  sugar  beets.  If  the  hogs  have  not  been 
fed  sugar  beets  they  will  eat  mangels  very  readily.     Their 


SUCCULENT    A\M)    BULKY    FREDS  249 

influence  upon  the  firmness  of  bacon  is  the  same  as  tliat 
of  sugar  beets.  Hogs  are  not  so  fond  of  turnips  as  of 
mang-els  and  sug-ar  beets,  but  if  they  do  not  know  the 
taste  of  either  mangels  or  sugar  beets,  they  will  eat  a 
considerable  quantity  of  turnips.  Turnips  are  made 
more  palatable  by  cooking,  though  it  is  doubtful  whetlier 
cooking  increases  their  actual  feeding  value,  which  is  very 
similar  to  that  of  mangels.  W'e  have  found  the  feeding 
of  turnips  along  with  a  meal  ration  to  gi\'e  a  firmer 
quality  of  bacon  than  when  meal  is  fed  alone.  Much 
of  the  value  of  roots  consists  in  their  action  upon  the 
general  health  of  the  animal.  They  tend  to  prevent  in- 
digestion and  constipation,  and  promote  general  thrift. 
The  results  of  our  experiments  and  of  those  conducted 
by  other  stations  indicate  that  from  six  to  eight  pounds 
of  sugar  beets,  mangels  or  turnips,  are  equivalent  in  feed- 
ing value  to  one  pound  of  mixed  meal." 

SUGAR  BEETS  IN  THE  CORN  BELT 

The  experience  generally  of  successful  hog  raisers  in 
the  corn  belt  has  given  a  favorable  place  to  the  sugar 
beet.  "We  raise  sugar  beets  largely,  and  consider  them 
of  great  benefit,"  says  Fred  H.  Rankin  of  Illinois.  "They 
come  neare.st  to  supplying  the  place  of  pasture  in  winter 
of  anything  we  can  find.  No  similar  area  on  the  farm 
ex'er  produced  so  profitable  a  crop  as  did  a  patch  of 
sugar  beets.  W'e  used  them  whole,  and  as  pastures  were 
short  in  the  fall,  we  pulled  and  fed  many  of  the  beets, 
and  it  was  surprising  with  what  avidity  the  stock  ate 
them,  particularly  the  tops.     Frost  does  not  in  any  wise 


250  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

injure  the  tops  and  we  did  not  dig  and  pit  our  crop  until 
late  in  November.  The  last  beets  taken  out  of  the  pit 
in  the  spring  were  as  fresh  and  crisp  as  when  placed 
there.  There  is  no  stock  that  needs  succulence  in  food 
more  than  swine  or  that  will  pay  better  for  supplying  it. 
especially  the  breeding  herd." 

"1  have  fattened  my  own  hogs  for  family  use  for  the 
last  three  years  on  sugar  beets,"  sa3^s  T.  L.  Diesem  of 
Kansas;  "anfl  I  did  not  give  them  any  grain  until  about 
two  weeks  before  slaughtering,  when  I  fed  them  corn, 
barley  and  oats.  Their  meat  was  as  firm  as  if  they  had 
been  corn  fed.  The  flavor  of  our  sausage,  at  least,  is 
just  the  same  as  when  we  feed  corn." 

.V  phase  of  root  feeding  in  winter  which  is  worth  con- 
sideration has  been  advanced  by  A.  W.  Brayton  of  Illi- 
nois, who  says  :  "Stock  fed  entirely  upon  dry  feed  require 
a  great  deal  of  water,  and  if  the  weather  is  cold  and  the 
water  near  the  freezing  point  they  will  not  drink  as  much 
as  their  systems  demand,  and  the  food  sometimes  be- 
comes impacted,  or  passes  only  partly  digested,  causing 
injury  and  disease;  or,  at  times  they  will  drink  more 
than  is  necessary,  thereby  washing  the  food  out  of  the 
stomach  before  half  the  nutriment  is  extracted.  Taken 
in  large  cjuantities  ice-cold  water  reduces  the  animal  tem- 
perature, and  the  beast  stands  around  for  hours  humped 
and  shivering  with  cold.  If  given  a  ration  of  succulent 
food,  which  is  largely  juices,  the  liquid  necessary  is  at 
least  partly  supplied,  a  little  at  a  time  and  in  its  most 
acceptable  form." 


SUCCULENT    AND    BULKY    FEEDS  25 1 

THE   DANISH  EXPERIMENTS 

Elaborate  swine  feeding  experiments  involving  nu- 
merous problems  have  been  conducted  by  the  Danish 
experiment  station  at  Copenhagen.  These  experiments 
were  extensive  and  on  the  co-operative  plan ;  the  animals 
were  kept  upon  estates  and  fed  in  the  ordinary  way  by 
farmers,  but  the  tests  were  arranged  and  results  observed 
by  officials  of  the  experiment  station.  The  large  num- 
ber of  hogs,  in  some  series  practically  a  thousand,  gave 
a  certainty  to  the  averages  which  made  the  experiments 
of  unusual  value.  The  author  of  "Feeds  and  Feeding" 
painstakingly  worked  over  the  39  periodical  reports  on 
the  Danish  experiments  which  had  been  issued  prior  to 
the  publication  of  his  work,  and  one  of  its  chapters  is 
devoted  to  results  obtained  by  the  Copenhagen  station. 
In  referring  to  the  extensive  Danish  trials  in  root  feed- 
ing, Professor  Henry  has  said  : 

"In  the  Danish  experiments  such  roots  as  mangels 
and  other  beets,  turnips  and  carrots,  were  usually  fed 
uncooked.  In  one  series  of  experiments  it  was  found 
that  from  eight  to  ten  pounds  of  mangels  equaled  one 
pound  of  grain.  The  quality  of  pork  from  pigs  given 
mangels  and  other  roots  was  satisfactory.  Even  when 
one-fourth  of  the  nutriment  furnished  consisted  of  roots 
the  pork  was  still  of  good  quality.  In  one  group  of  ex- 
periments in  which  204  pigs  were  used,  four  kinds  of 
roots  were  fed  in  addition  to  dairy  refuse  and  grain. 
The  conclusions  were  tliat  jYi  pouiids  of  Eckendorf 
mangels.  6^  pounds  of  Elvetham  mangels,  five  pounds 
of  fodder  beets  and  four  pounds  of  sugar  beets  were 


252  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

each  equal  to  one  pound  of  barley.  The  quantity  of  dry 
matter  in  each  of  these  allowances  of  beets  is  practically 
the  same.  It  is  apparent,  therefore,  that  the  value  of 
beets  as  food  for  swine  depends  upon  the  quantity  of  dry 
matter  they  contain  rather  than  their  total  weight.  It 
was  concluded  from  these  experiments  that  40  per  cent 
of  the  ration  of  the  pig  may  be  advantageously  made  up 
of  roots." 

"In  another  series  of  experiments  nearly  900  pigs  were 
used  in  root-feeding  trials.  Carrots  were  found  to  have 
no  higher  value  than  mangels,  dry  matter  being  taken 
into  account.  The  common  field  turnip  is  over  90  per 
cent  water.  Since  grain  feeds  are  much  higher  in  Den- 
mark than  in  America,  it  is  natural  that  root  crops  gen- 
erally should  be  more  highly  appreciated  by  stockmen 
there  than  in  this  country.  On  the  other  hand,  even  if 
the  grains  are  cheap 'with  us,  we  should  not  insist  that 
growing  pigs  and  breeding  swine  should  be  kept  upon 
these  concentrated  materials  alone.  Such  material  lacks 
bulk,  and  when  fed  in  reasonable  quantity  to  growing 
and  breeding  stock  the  stomach  and  intestines  are  all  the 
time  in  a  condition  of  collapse.  Volume  is  an  essential 
constituent  of  feed  and,  in  a  way,  it  is  as  important  as 
nutriment.  Roots  furnish  this  to  swine  in  the  best  form 
possible." 

IRISH  POTATOES 

Potatoes  do  not  have  as  high  feeding  value  as  roots, 
but  are  often  more  readily  available.  Results  from  feed- 
ing with  raw  potatoes  are  not  generally  satisfactory,  but 
when  cooked  so  as  to  be  mealy  and  not  too  soggy  the 


SUCCULENT    AND    BULKY    FEEDS  253 

potatoes  are  relished.  A  Canadian  authority  reports 
(Bulletin  No.  129,  Ontario  agricultural  college)  that 
"their  influence  upon  the  quality  of  bacon  is  beneficial." 
It  is  ordinarily  estimated  that  four  or  4J^  pounds  of  po- 
tatoes, when  cooked  and  used  in  connection  with  corn, 
other  grain  or  meal,  have  a  value  equal  to  one  pound  of 
grain  alone.  Potatoes  alone  cannot  be  used  to  advantage 
as  a  feed,  nor  can  they  be  eaten  by  hogs  in  any  great 
quantity.  They  are  best  relished  when  cooked  and  mixed 
with  meal,  making  of  the  mixture  a  rather  heavy  mush. 
Skim  milk  and  potatoes  go  well  together.  (See  experi- 
ments of  Central  experimental  farm  given  in  the  table  in 
Chapter  17.) 

SWEET   POTATOES 

Sweet  potatoes  have  been  fed  to  hogs  with  some  de- 
gree of  success,  particularly  in  the  southern  states,  where 
they  have  been  used  l^oth  raw  and  cooked,  and  the 
Jiogs  have  also  been  allowed  to  harvest  them.  Attempts 
to  maintain  hogs  on  them  have  proved  unprofitable,  but 
their  value  has  been  apparent  when  properly  balancing 
a  ration. 

The  South  Carolina  experiment  station  (Bulletin  No. 
52)  fed  one  lot  of  hogs,  averaging  in  weight  162  pounds 
each,  on  sweet  potatoes  alone,  for  43  days,  and  another 
lot,  averaging  156  pounds  each,  for  the  same  period  on 
corn.  The  average  total  gain  per  hog  was  26.6  pounds 
on  sweet  potatoes  and  50.6  pounds  on  corn  from  an 
average  consumption  of  863.7  pounds  of  sweet  potatoes 
and  305  pounds  of  corn,  thus  requiring  to  produce  one 
pound  of  pork  32.47  pounds  of  sweet  potatoes  or  6.02 


254  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

pounds  of  corn.  The  yields  per  acre  at  the  South  Caro- 
h"na  station  were  200  bushels  of  sweet  potatoes  and  15 
bushels  of  corn,  and  pork  was  worth  five  cents  per 
pound.  At  those  figures,  for  pork  production,  corn  was 
worth  $6.97  per  acre  and  sweet  potatoes  $18.47  P^^  ^c^^- 

The  Maryland  station  found  (Bulletin  No.  63)  feed- 
ing an  exclusive  sweet  potato  ration  to  rather  ma- 
ture hogs  "not  to  be  economical  or  desirable,"  but  when 
sweet  potato  strings  were  made  part  of  a  ration  with 
gluten  meal  and  skim  milk  they  were  estimated  to  have 
a  feeding  value  of  about  40  cents  per  100  pounds. 

The  Alabama  station  has  found  (Bulletin  No.  122) 
that  shotes  on  an  average  will  make  one  pound  of  growth 
in  consuming  3.13  pounds  of  grain,  with  raw  sweet  po- 
tatoes in  addition,  and  the  conclusion  was  reached  (Bul- 
letin No.  93)  that  "a  profit  is  possible  only  by  saving 
the  expense  of  harvesting,  which  is  the  heaviest  single 
item  of  expense  in  sweet-potato  culture.  If  the  hogs  do 
the  rooting,  the  sweet  potato  is  doubtless  a  cheaper  food 
than  corn  on  some  sandy  soils  that  yield  ten  to  15  times 
as  many  bushels  of  sweet  potatoes  as  of  corn.  The  vines 
are  also  valuable  as  food  for  hogs.  The  value  of  sweet 
potatoes  will  be  enhanced  by  feeding  with  them  a  liberal 
allowance  of  cowpeas  or  peanuts,  which  supply  the  ni- 
trogenous material  in  which  the  sweet  potato  is  defi- 
cient." 

The  Florida  station  (Bulletin  No.  55)  compared  the 
feeding  of  native  shotes  on  rations  of  corn  and  wheat 
middlings  against  wheat  middlings  and  sweet  potatoes. 
The  animals  were  common   ''Razor-Backs,"  which  had 


SUCCULENT    AND    BULKY    FEEDS 


255 


never  been  confined  prior  to  the  experiments,  and  the  re- 
sults obtained  would  doubtless  have  been  better  with  im- 
proved stock.  The  nutritive  ratio  was  practically  the 
same  in  each  ration.  There  were  four  shotes  in  each 
lot,  and  they  were  fed  in  open  troughs,  morning  and 
night,  supplied  with  running  water  and  kept  in  a  large 
pcMi  without  shelter.  'I'hey  were  fed  for  a  preliminary 
period  of  20  days  l)ef()re  l)eginning  the  experiment,  in 
order  to  accustom  them  to  feeding  in  confinement.  Re- 
sults obtained  are  summed  up  and  compared  thus : 


TARLE     COMPARING    RESULTS     IN     FEEDING    SWEET    POTATOES 
AND    CORN,    IX    RATIONS    WITH    MIDDLINGS 


Ration. 

■^  m    . 

Wb 

4 

E 
c 

O 

s 

1 

6 

.2 
2 
'o 

1 

6  p. 

Pounds 
452 

Pounds 
160.0 

35.39 

Pounds 
406 . 80 

610.20 

1:5.9 

$9.13 

Wheat  middrgsO  parts) 

S.7 

Sweet  potatoes  (1  part) 
Wheat  middl-gsd  part) 

406 

126.5 

31.16 

639.45 
639.51 

1:5.8 

10.02 

7.9 

ARTICHOIiES 

The  "Jerusalem"  artichoke,  a  tuber  belonging  to  the 
sunflower  family,  is  in  some  sections,  mostly  outside  the 
corn  belt,  considerably  esteemed  as  a  wholesome  and  in- 
expensive fall,  winter  and  spring  food  for  swine.  It  is 
estimated  as  having  approximately  the  same  feeding 
value  "-3  potatoes,  or  a  little  more.  It  will  grow  where 
the  potato  does  not  thrive,  and  is  nearly  always  harvested 


256  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

by  the  hogs.  Its  worth,  cost  considered,  has  not  been 
fully  appreciated,  perhaps  because  of  the  prevalent  idea 
that,  once  established  in  the  soil,  its  eradication  is  very 
difficult,  but  this  is  not  ;iecessarily  a  fact.  It  grows  from 
the  eyes  of  the  tuber,  which  may  be  planted  whole,  or 
cut.  If  planted  in  the  late  fall  the  whole  tuber  is  used. 
In  spring  the  pieces  will  do.  Plant  in  rows  about  the 
same  as  potatoes,  so  that  cultivation  may  be  given.  As 
the  plant  grows  up  several  feet  high,  the  rows  should  be 
about  three  feet  apart  and  the  plants  some  18  inches  in 
the  rows.  Plant  as  deep  as  potatoes,  and  cultivate  about 
the  same.  The  plot  should  be  near  the  hog  lots  and 
fenced  hog  tight.  In  the  fall,  when  the  tubers  are 
grown,  the  hogs  will  do  the  harvesting. 

By  preventing  the  hogs  from  securing  all  the  tubers 
this  crop  can  be  grown  successively  for  several  years 
without  replanting.  In  the  spring  the  cultivator  is  start- 
ed after  the  new  plants  show,  and  everything  torn  out 
except  the  plants  in  the  rows.  To  destroy  the  crop  let 
the  hogs  root  out  every  tuber  if  possible.  When  any 
stray  plants  appear,  plowing  and  planting  to  corn  or  some 
cultivated  crop  makes  their  eradication  comparatively 
easy. 

In  tests  at  the  Oregon  station  hogs  which  were  given 
the  run  of  an  artichoke  field,  and  were  also  given  a  par- 
tial feed  of  grain,  made  a  gain  of  one  pound  in  weight 
for  each  3.1  pounds  of  grain  fed.  while  it  usually  takes 
about  five  pounds  of  grain  to  make  one  pound  of  gain. 
In  tests  made  at  the  Missouri  agricultural  college,  one 
bushel  of  artichokes  and  three  bushels  of  corn  were 
found  superior  to  four  bushels  of  corn,  and  other  tests 


SUCCULENT    AND    BULKY    FEEDS 


257 


liave  given  similar  results.  The  inexpensive  gain  in 
weight  is  not  the  only  advantage  in  using  artichokes,  as 
the  better  health  consequent  on  adding  to  the  ration  this 
fresh  and  succulent  feed  is  a  matter  of  great  importance, 
especially  in  animals  which  are  kept  for  breeding.  The 
best  soil  for  the  crop  is  similar  to  that  best  for  Irish  po- 


TUBERS    AND    MATURE    ARTICHOKE    PLANT. 


tatoes.     It  should  be  rich,  mellow  and  well  drained.     On 
dry,  hard  clay  the  yield  is  always  small. 

South  Carolina  experiment  station  Bulletin  No.  128 
says :  "During  November  and  December,  when  March 
shotes  ought  to  be  fitted  for  the  block,  they  should  be 
turned  onto  patches  of  artichokes  and  Spanish  peanuts, 
which    make   an   excellent   combination   of    feeds,   that, 


258  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

moreover,  have  the  adxantage  of  enabhng  the  hogs  to  do 
the  harvesting.  Sweet  potatoes  and  chufas  may  be  used 
as  substitutes  for  artichokes ;  on  account  of  the  watery 
nature  of  potatoes  and  artichokes  they  should  never  be 
used  alone,  but  in  conjunction  with  more  concentrated 
feeds,  Hke  peanuts,  peas,  corn  and  grains."  In  Canada 
artichokes  seem  to  find  favor.  Tlie  pamphlet  on  bacon 
production  issued  by  the  Ontario  agricultural  college 
(Bulletin  No.  129)  says:  "In  some  sections  this  crop  is 
very  popular  as  a  hog  food.  It  is  suitable,  however,  only 
for  somewhat  light,  sandy  soils.  Artichokes  may  l3e 
planted  in  the  late  fall  or  early  spring,  in  rows  21  to  24 
inches  apart,  and  from  12  to  18  inches  apart  in  the  rows. 
They  are  usually  ready  for  feed  about  September  15. 
Artichokes  have  a  little  higher  feeding  value  than  pota- 
toes, and  hogs  are  very  fond  of  them."  In  Oregon  the 
yield  was  found  by  the  experiment  station  to  be  740 
bushels  per  acre.  An  experiment  there  (Bulletin  No.  54) 
with  artichokes  used  with  a  small  quantity  of  chopped 
(coarsely  ground)  wheat  and  oats  resulted  in  an  average 
daily  gain  of  .81  pound  each  by  swine  weighing  from 
117  to  215  pounds.  "The  pigs  were  healthy  and  vigor- 
ous during  the  feeding  period."  says  the  report.  "It  does 
not  cost  much  to  raise  a  small  area  of  artichokes.  A 
small  acreage  might  be  profitably  employed  by  any 
farmer  who  expects  to  make  his  own  bacon  or  supply 
the  market  with  a  superior  grade  of  pork  products. 
Artichokes  do  best  in  rich,  loose  soil,  where  there  is  an 
abundance  of  decayed  vegetable  matter." 

At  the  Central  experimental  farm  of  Canada  (Annual 
Report  of  Experimental  Farms,  1900)  one-sixteenth  of 


SUCCULENT    AND    BULKY    FEEDS 


^59 


an  acre  in  artichokes  returned  a  net  profit  in  pork  of 
$9.76.  The  pigs  harvested  the  artichokes  while  the 
tubers  were  immature,  and  were  given  in  addition  during 
the  21  days  of  the  experiment  189  pounds  of  meal,  con- 
sisting of  one-half  corn  and  one-sixth  each  of  oats,  peas 
and  barley,  making  a  daily  grain  ration  of  i>2  pounds 
per  pig.  In  commenting  upon  the  fondness  for  ar- 
ticiiokes  shown  by  the  pigs,  Professor  Grisdale  said:  "I 
ha\e  ne\er  seen  pigs  eat  anything  with  more  gusto." 
Ihe  favorable  daily  gain  is  interesting,  especially  in  view 
of  the  small  quantity  of  grain  used.  The  gains  made 
by  the  pigs  are  shown  in  the  following  table : 

G.MNS    MADE    BY    PIGS    ON    ARTICHOKES    AND   GRAIN 


No. 

of  the 

Pig. 

Weight 
Oct.  3. 

WeiKlU 
Oct.  24. 

Gain. 

Daily 
rate  of 
gain. 

No. 
of  the 
Pig. 

Weight 
Oct.  3. 

Weight 
Oct.  24. 

Gain. 

Daily 
rate  of 
gain. 

263... 
264... 
267... 
268... 

Pounds 
100 
105 
106 
111 

Pounds 
131 
141 
138 
141 

Pounds 
31 
36 
32 
30 

Pounds 
1.47 
1.71 
1.52 
1.42 

269 
271 

Total 

Pounds 
109 
95 

Pounds 
145 
127 

Pounds 
36 
32 

Pounds 
1.71 
1.S2 

626 

823 

197 

1.57 
Aver'ge 

The  tops  of  the  Jerusalem  artichoke  are  seldom,  if 
e\er,  eaten  by  swine,  but  are  considered  excellent  fodder 
for  horses  or  cattle.  A  comparatively  small  planting  is 
ample  for  a  number  of  hogs. 

CHUFAS  AND  THE   CASSAVA 


Chufas  are  used  to  some  extent  in  the  southern  states, 
particular!}'  in  winter,  with  artichokes.  The  Alabama 
experiment  station  (Bulletin  No.  122)  obtained  one 
pound  of  growth  for  1.92  pounds  of  grain  when  shotes 


260  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

were  given  a  half  ration  of  grain  and  grazed  on  chufas. 
It  was  found  in  another  experiment  at  the  Alabama  sta- 
tion that  an  acre  of  chufas  converted  into  pork  was 
worth  $13.09  when  live  hogs  were  selling  at  33^  cents 
per  pound.  The  Arkansas  station  (Bulletin  No.  54) 
estimated  a  product  of  592  pounds  of  pork  from  one 
acre  of  chufas. 

Tlie  chui'a  is  considered  more  difficult  to  eradicate  than 
the  artichoke.  It  is  also  regarded  as  having  a  deleterious 
effect  upon  the  melting  point  of  lard  from  hogs  that 
have  not  had  more  or  less  corn  in  the  last  weeks  of  their 
fattening. 

The  cassava  has  been  found  to  give  excellent  results 
when  fed  to  swine  in  connection  with  wheat  middlings 
and  cowpeas  for  fattening  (Florida  experiment  station 
Bulletin  No.  55). 

PUMPKINS  AND   SQUASHES 

Pumpkins  and  squashes  are  much  relished  by  Swine, 
and  the  former  especially  have  been  fed  to  hogs  in  Amer- 
ica for  a  century  with  pleasing  results.  They  make  a 
useful  and  cheaply  raised  supplement  for  corn,  and 
their  keeping  qualities  add  to  their  value  as  a  succulent 
food  for  winter.  The  custom  of  planting  pumpkins  witli 
corn  results  in  their  being  grown  at  almost  no  expense. 
Those  of  inferior  quality  should  be  fed  out  first,  leaving 
the  soundest  for  storing.  The  seeds  are  exceedingly 
rich  in  protein,  and  if  hogs  are  given  many  pumpkins  the 
animals  should  be  watched  to  see  that  they  are  not  being 
overfed  with  seeds  and  their  systems  thereby  deranged. 


SUCCULENT    A.\D    l^LLKV    FEEDS  201 

Pumpkin  seeds  are  a  natural  vermifuge  and  are  valuable 
for  hogs  afflicted  with  any  kind  of  worms. 

Pumpkins  are  sometimes  cooked  for  swine,  but  recent 
experiments  indicate  that  this  is  not  profitable.  Trials 
at  the  Central  experimental  farm  of  Canada  (Annual 
Report  of  Experimental  Farms,  1900),  and  the  Oregon 
(Bulletin  No.  54)  and  New  Hampshire  (Bulletin  No. 
66)  experiment  stations  have  been  averaged  by  Rommel 
(Bulletin  No.  47.  Part  II.  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry, 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture)  to  show  that  a  pound 
of  pork  gain  was  made  from  z.j}^  pounds  of  grain  with 
3.76  pounds  of  raw  pumpkin,  as  compared  with  2.22 
pounds  of  grain  with  11.5  pounds  of  cooked  pumpkin. 
Results  from  the  experiments  are  shown  in  the  table  on 
page  262. 

In  the  Canadian  experiment  the  grain  mixture  was 
half  corn  and  one-sixth  eacli  of  oats,  peas  and  barley. 
Shorts  were  fed  with  the  pumpkins  at  the  Oregon  station, 
and  skim  milk  and  corn  meal  were  given  in  the  New 
Hampshire  experiment. 

A  trial  of  feeding  pigs  rations  of  skim  milk  and  raw 
pumpkins  was  also  made  at  the  New  Hampshire  station 
(Bulletin  No.  66).  In  estimating  profits  the  pumpkins 
were  valued  at  40  cents  per  ton,  the  bare  cost  of  raising 
in  the  field,  and  skim  milk  at  20  cents  per  hundredweight. 
Three  shotes  averaging  141  pounds  each  were  fed  for  25 
days  on  all  the  pumpkins  they  would  eat  and  a  daily  al- 
lowance each  of  8.4  pounds  of  milk.  They  were  charged 
by  Agriculturist  C.  W.  Burkett,  who  conducted  and  re- 
l)orted  the  experiment,  with  eating  3.798  pounds  of 
pumpkins,  which  would  be  the  astonishing  daily  average 


s   ;2  . 

$3.  OS 
2.9o 

2.99 

3.31 
3.32 

C 

a 

a 

1 

EE 

Pounds 

281 

1,062 

1,508 

793 

447 

g 

p. 

Ph 

Q 
W 

^ 

1  :  :     :    S£ 
^  ■  ■      ■ 

1 

cSS    S    So 

5 
1 

P-m 

ES 

Pounds 
2,090 
7,500 

7,523 

1,348 
742 

s 

< 
< 

S 

■^    .    .        .     00 

a,  '  ■ 

0 

Pounds 
1,981 
1,602 

924 

514 
•514 

o 
o 

1    .    .      c^      ^o- 

(i   •   ■ 

Q 

w 

o 

Jlofj 

oS            ■         CN(N 

^ 

p 
f^ 

1 ; :  2  ss 

i|,.i 

-0         rOfO 

1 

i 

Pi 

Ottawa : 

Raw  pumpkins..  . 

Cooked  pumpkins 
Oregon : 

Cooked  pumpkins 
New  Hampshire: 

Raw  pumpkins  .  . 

Cooked  pumpkins 

SUCCULENT    AND    CULKV    FEEDS  2(\] 

per  shote  of  50.64  pounds.  The  gain  was  84  pounds  for 
the  lot  of  three  shotes,  as  compared  with  a  gain  of  170 
pounds  for  a  similar  lot  fed  for  an  equivalent  period  on 
a  ration  of  skim  milk,  corn  meal  and  raw  pumpkins.  The 
food  for  the  latter  lot  cost  $5.64,  and  the  market  value  of 
the  gain  was  $9.35  at  5>^  cents  a  pound  for  live  pork, 
making  a  profit  of  $3.71.  For  the  lot  fed  on  milk  and 
pumpkins  only  the  gain  was  worth  $4.62,  and  the  cost 
for  food  was  but  $2.00,  making  a  profit  of  $2.62.  The 
average  gain  per  day  was  1.12  pounds  by  each  shote  of 
the  lot  having  no  corn  meal,  as  compared  with  a  daily 
gain  of  2.26  pounds  per  shote  in  the  lot  given  the  meal. 

Squashes  are  not  so  frequently  used  in  hog  feeding, 
althougii  tiieir  value  should  be  fully  equal  to  that  of 
pumpkins,  and  hogs  will  eat  them  quite  as  readily.  Doubt- 
less the  hardness  and  thickness  of  the  rinds  of  most 
squashes  has  an  influence  against  them.  In  sections 
where  they  are  grown  in  quantities  for  their  seeds 
squashes  with  their  seeds  removed  are  usually  best  turned 
to  proht  by  swine. 

A  Colorado  farmer  relates  the  followmg  in  reference 
to  the  use  of  Hubbard  .squashes  in  that  State :  "A  neigh- 
bor claims  he  can  finish  the  fattening  of  hogs  on  Hub- 
bard squashes  in  one-half  the  time  he  can  with  corn, 
while  with  pumpkins  he  can  only  make  them  hold  tlieir 
own.  He  says  he  can  finish  a  hog  in  fair  condition  in 
six  weeks  on  about  one  ton  of  squashes,  making  a  200-to- 
250  pound  hog.  He  cuts  the  squashes  and  feeds  them 
raw,  and  says  the  hogs  clean  up  everything,  shell  and 
all." 


J04 


SWINE   IN   AMERICA 


The  squash  apparently  has  a  fattening  \ahie  greater 
than  that  of  the  pumpkin,  and  both  pumpkins  and 
squashes  are  worthy  of  more  attention  in  swine  husban- 
dry than  has  been  generally  given  them. 


A    Yorkshire    Sow,    as    Portrayed    in    1870 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Pork-Maker's  Mainstay 

NOT    DESIRABLE    FOR    ALL   PURPOSES 

Indian  corn  is  at  once  the  dependence  and  the  despair 
of  the  pork  maker.  So  easily  and  abundantly  raised, 
and  in  such  convenient  form  for  feeding-,  especially  in 
cold  weather,  it  has  rightfully  earned  place  as  the  prin- 
cipal grain  for  fattening-  all  kinds  of  farm  stock.  Its 
very  richness  and  convenient  form  cause  it  to  be  used  in 
many  cases  without  a  proper  understanding  of  its  adap- 
tability to  the  animal  economy,  and  the  result  is  naturally 
shown  in  tendencies  toward  disease.  In  its  great  strength 
lies  its  weakness  in  the  hands  of  the  man  who  does  not 
use  this  wonderful  grain  with  a  good  knowledge  of  its 
capabilities  and  limitations;  yet,  as  a  cheap  fattening 
food  for  all  classes  of  farm  stock,  corn  stands  in  America 
without  a  peer.  There  is  little  doubt  that  with  mature 
animals  more  rapid  gains  can  be  obtained  at  less  expense 
from  corn  than  from  any  other  single  cereal.  The  ease 
with  which  it  can  be  produced,  its  exceedingly  high  nu- 
tritive value,  its  digestibility  and  palatability,  give  the 
stockmen  within  the  corn  belt  a  long  lead  in  almost  every 
branch  of  animal  industry. 

Corn  is  the  most  palatable  grain  fed  to  live  stock, 
probably  because  of  the  luitlike  pieces  into  which  the 
kernels  break  when  chewed ;  doubtless  it  is  also  better 


266  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

relished  because  of  the  presence  in  it  of  so  much  oil.  It 
is  extremely  rich  in  oil  and  starchy  matter,  and  compara- 
tively poor  in  protein  and  ash,  being,  therefore,  unusual- 
ly well  atlapted  for  supplying  material  for  fat  and  heat, 
1)ut  not  for  bone  and  muscle.  Hence,  its  largest  value  is 
not  for  breeding  stock  and  growing  pigs,  but  perhaps 
more  nearly  than  any  other  one  grain  it  approaches  the 
ideal,  when  properly  utilized,  for  quick  fattening  for 
market.  A  carbonaceous  food,  its  use  alone  is  not  the 
best  feeding,  as  experience  has  abundantly  testified.  No 
matter  how  well  one  phase  of  the  body's  composition  may 
be  looked  after,  if  other  important  constituents  are  ig- 
nored and  uncared  for,  nature  is  pretty  certain  to  set  up  a 
vigorous  complaint,  which  is  not  uncommonly  referred  to 
as  hog  cholera,  but,  when  the  exact  truth  is  desired,  will 
perhaps  be  more  appropriately  designated  as  carelessness. 
An  almost  exclusive  corn  diet  and  unclean  conditions 
will  produce  fatal  results  with  human  beings;  this  state- 
ment finds  verification  in  the  terrible  disease  known  as 
"pellagra"  or  "Italian  leprosy,"  afflicting  the  peasantry 
of  southern  Europe.  The  Encyclopedia  Britannica  says 
of  this  disease :  "The  special  factor  is  undoubtedly  maize 
as  an  article  of  diet  or  as  the  staple  diet;  but  it  is,  on  the 
other  hand,  perfectly  clear  that  there  is  nothing  in  a 
maize  diet  itself  to  induce  pellagra.  Its  presence  within 
its  actual  endemic  area  varies  much  from  province  to 
province  or  from  commune  to  commune,  being  ahvays 
least  where  the  maize  diet  is  supplemented  by  wheaten 
flour,  rice,  beans,  chestnuts,  potatoes  or  fish." 


THE   PORK-MAKERS    MAINSTAY  267 

RESULTS   OF  ILL-BAIiANCED   FEEDING 

The  effect  of  exclusive  corn  feeding  to  swine  at  all 
ages,  even  under  conditions  of  average  cleanliness,  is  a 
matter  of  important  knowledge  for  the  feeder.  This  was 
shown  in  experiments  at  the  Wisconsin  station  and  re- 
ported in  "Swine  Husbandry"  as  follows  by  Prof.  W.  A. 
Henry  : 

"Knowing  corn  to  be  a  universal  hog  food  and  often 
used  almost  exclusively  by  many  of  our  farmers,  and 
further  knowing  that  chemistry  shows  that  corn  is 
excessively  rich  in  the  carbohydrates  or  heat  and  fat 
formers,  while  it  is  low  or  poor  in  protein  and  ash  ele- 
ments which  go  to  make  up  bone  and  muscle,  we  thought 
to  feed  it  exclusively  to  one  lot  of  hogs  that  we  might 
see  the  effect.  The  experiments  show  that  when  we  feed 
hogs  a  ration  rich  in  carbohydrates  Init  lacking  in  protein, 
like  corn  meal,  we  will  find : 

"i.  That  there  is  an  excessive  development  of  fat, 
not  only  on  the  outside  of  the  muscles  and  Ijeneath  the 
skin,  but  also  among  the  muscles. 

"2.  That  the  muscles  of  the  body  fail  to  develop  to 
their  normal  size,  especially  some  of  the  most  important 
ones,  as  those  along  the  back. 

"3.  That  an  abnormally  small  amount  of  hair  and  a 
thin  skin  result. 

"4.  That,  while  the  brain,  heart  and  lungs  do  not 
seem  to  change  in  weight,  the  spleen,  liver  and  kidneys 
are  unusually  small. 

"5.  The  amount  of  blood  in  the  body  is  greatly  re- 
duced from  the  normal. 


^68  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

"6.  The  strength  of  the  Ijones  may  \)e  reduced  one- 
half. 

"We  may  conclude  that  a  system  of  feeding  which 
robs  the  hog  of  half  its  blood  and  half  the  natural 
strength  of  the  bones,  and  produces  other  violent 
changes,  is  a  most  unnatural  one,  and  must,  if  persisted 
in,  end  in  giving  us  a  race  of  animals  unsatisfactory  to 
all  concerned.  From  parents  thus  weakened  must  come 
descendants  that  will  fall  easy  victims  to  disease  and  dis- 
aster. Knowing  the  facts  as  here  set  forth,  can  we  any 
long-er  wonder  that  our  hogs  are  weak  in  constitution  and 
easily  break  down  when  attacked  by  disease?  Nor  is 
this  all ;  the  meat  from  such  animals  can  hardly  be  of 
flavor  and  composition  satisfactory  to  the  consumer. 

"Shall  we  raise  less  corn,  then?  Not  at  all.  The 
corn  crop  is  the  best  of  all  we  raise,  and  let  the  word  hQ 
'more'  rather  than  less.  We  need  it  all,  but  we  must 
not  forget  that  protein  is  somewhat  lacking  in  corn.  We 
may  compare  our  corn  to  the  bricks  which  go  into  a 
building,  and  the  protein  food  to  the  mortar  which  ce- 
ments the  bricks  together.  He  who  would  lay  up  bricks 
without  mortar  builds  foolishly,  and  his  house  will  tum- 
ble. Sliould  he  find  out  his  mistake,  such  a  man  shoulcj 
not  from  that  date  neglect  the  bricks  and  turn  his  whole 
attention  to  the  mortar.  Plenty  of  good  strong  mortar 
and  an  abundance  of  bricks  are  what  he  needs.  We 
do  not  want  less  corn,  but  we  want  more  clover,  more 
shorts,  more  bran,  more  peas,  more  skim  milk,  and 
more  alfalfa  to  bring-  the  highest  results." 


THE    pork-maker's    MAINSTAY  269 

RELATIVE  COST  OF  CORN  AND  PORK 

One  hundred  pounds  of  pork  from  ten  bushels  of  corn 
is  the  usual  estimate  by  American  farmers  who  feed 
whole  corn  in  their  large  and  careless  way,  under  most 
unfavorable  and  unpromising  conditions,  but  fed  in 
different  form,  and  in  conjunction  with  other  feeds,  it 
will  make  more,  as  has  been  thousands  of  times  fully 
demonstrated  by  careful  feeders,  both  in  America  and 
Europe.  While  it  is  perhaps  true  that  the  bulk  of  the 
corn  fed  to  hogs  does  not  give  a  return  of  ten  pounds 
of  pork,  live  weight,  per  bushel,  it  is  established  that  a 
bushel  of  corn  will  make  that  much,  and  more,  if  prop- 
erly used ;  and  where  it  does  the  following  basis  is 
approximately  correct  for  making  calculations : 

Feeding  with  corn  worth  12/4  cents  a  bushel,  makes 
pork  costing  iK'  cents  a  pound  for  the  corn  consumed. 

Feeding  with  corn  worth  17  cents  a  bushel,  makes 
l)ork  costing  2  cents  a  pound. 

Feeding  with  corn  worth  25  cents  a  bushel,  makes 
I)ork  costing  2}i  cents  a  pound. 

Feeding  with  corn  worth  from  t,^  to  40  cents  a  bushel, 
makes  pork  costing  4  cents  a  pound. 

Feeding  with  corn  worth  50  cents  a  bushel,  makes 
pork  costing  5  cents  a  pound. 

Or,  figuring  the  other  way : 

Pork  at  5  cents  a  pound,  live  weight,  gives  50  cents  a 
bushel  for  corn. 

Pork  at  4  cents  a  pound,  live  weight,  gives  from  ^^  to 
40  cents  a  bushel  for  corn. 

Pork  at  23^  to  3  cents  a  pound,  live  weight,  gives 
from  25  to  30  cents  a  bushel  for  corn. 


2JO  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

T\\t  foregoing  are  merely  adaptations  of  the  farmer's 
rule  that  hogs  are  fed  with  profit  when  the  corn  con- 
sumed costs  around  ten  cents  a  bushel  for  each  dollar 
per  lOO  pounds  received  for  the  fatted  hogs,  live  weight. 

QUANTITY  OF  CORN  REQUIRED 

Toward  solving  the  problem  as  to  the  corn  required 
to  bring  a  hog  to  200  or  250  pounds,  live  weight,  the  best 
help  is  experience,  obtained  with  hogs  in  their  pens  and 
pastures,  and  none  has  more  of  that  character  about  it 
than  some  recited  by  John  Cownie  of  Iowa : 

"I  can  answer  that  question,"  says  Mr.  Cownie,  "for 
I  have  weighed,  not  one  or  a  dozen  of  hogs,  but  hundreds 
of  them,  at  all  ages  and  under  common  farm  conditions. 
With  good,  thrifty  hogs  weighing  200  pounds,  and  the 
range  of  a  good  clover  pasture,  I  have  secured  a  gain  of 
15  pounds,  live  weight,  for  each  bushel  of  corn.  With 
well-bred,  thrifty  hogs,  confined  to  a  feeding  floor  and 
being  fattened  to  a  finish,  with  no  other  food  but  ear  corn 
and  water,  I  consider  14  pounds  of  ear  corn  daily  for 
hogs  weighing  250  to  300  pounds  an  average  allowance, 
and  the  g^ain  should  be  about  two  pounds  daily.  In  other 
words,  a  hog  of  these  weights  will  consume  a  bushel  of 
corn  in  five  days  and  make  a  gain  of  ten  pounds.  These 
are  no  guesswork  figures  or  experiments  with  a  few 
hogs,  but  the  results  of  feeding  hundreds,  I  might  truth- 
fully say  thousands,  with  every  ear  of  corn  weighed,  the 
hogs  weighed  every  four  weeks,  and  each  and  every  part 
of  the  work  done  by  myself  and  every  figure  verified  so 
as  to  make  errors  impossible. 


THE  pork-makilRS   a:\ixstay  271 

"But,  again,  I  ha\-e  seen  less  tlian  six  pounds  of  gain 
obtained  from  eaeh  Ijushel,  although  every  effort  was 
made  to  secure  better  results  and  the  hogs  were  in  a 
thrifty  condition.  The  weather  has  much  to  do  with 
gain  in  weight,  and  I  have  seen  during  long-continued, 
cold,  stormy  weather,  even  with  comfortable  quarters, 
very  little  increase  in  weight,  while  there  would  be  only  a 
small  reduction  in  the  quantity  of  corn  consumed. 

"A  young  hog  will  make  a  somewhat  larger  gain  from 
a  bushel  of  corn  than  an  older  animal,  if  thrifty  and  the 
feeding  is  judiciously  done,  but  in  round  numbers  a  gain 
of  ten  pounds  in  live  weight  for  each  bushel  of  corn  is 
very  satisfactory.  A  hog  weighing  200  pounds  would, 
according  to  these  figures,  have  consumed  20  bushels  of 
corn,  and  one  weighing  300  pounds,  30  bushels.  But  to 
secure  these  weights  the  hogs  must  be  w^ell  bred,  thrifty 
and  judiciously  fed,  and  should  have  the  run  of  a  pasture 
with  plenty  of  grass.  The  best  results  will  be  obtained 
by  giving  corn  sparingly  to  young  hogs  and  substituting 
in  its  place  shorts,  ground  oats  and  other  bone-and-mus- 
cle-forming  food,  finishing  with  corn.  Let  no  one  be  de- 
ceived with  these  figures  and  conclude  that  ten  pounds  of 
live  weight  in  hogs  is  the  easy  rule  for  each  bushel  of 
corn.  I  know  men  who  do  not  secure  one-half  that  gain, 
and  yet  have  been  engaged  in  feeding  hogs  all  their  lives. 
Painstaking  application,  good  judgment  and  an  unswerv- 
ing determination  to  secure  success,  with  a  love  for  the 
work,  are  all  necessary  to  secure  the  best  results  in  rais- 
ing hogs." 

A  comparative  experiment  made  at  the  Ohio  state  uni- 
versity gave  12.3  pounds  of  pork  as  the  pi'oduct  from  one 


2J2 


SWINE   IX   AMERICA 


bushel  of  corn,  while  13.7  pounds  were  produced  from 
one  bushel  of  wheat.  The  actual  gain  in  favor  of  corn 
was  revealed  through  a  comparison  of  the  market  prices 
of  the  grains.  This  showed  that  the  cost  of  producing 
TOO  pounds  of  gain  from  wheat  was  $4.01,  and  from 
corn,  $2.85. 

At  the  Illinois  station  Prof.  George  E.  Morrow  macie 
numerous  experiments  to  ascertain  the  live  weight  of 
pork  that  could  be  expected  from  hogs  of  differing  ages 
confined  to  a  diet  of  whole  corn,  at  various  seasons  of 
the  3'ear,  and  the  following  table  gives  the  details,  and 
resulting  averages : 


WEIGHTS  OBTAINED  FROM   WHOLE  CORN  FED  TO  HOGS  AT  THE 
ILLINOIS   EXPERIMENT   STATION 


Corn 

Gain 

No. 

No. 

No. 

Av.  wt. 

Gain 

for  100 

per 

of 

Time  of  feeding. 

of 

of 

of 

per 

pounds 

bushel 

lot. 

days. 

hogs. 

hogs. 

day. 

gain. 

of  corn 
fed. 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Pounds 

1 

Nov.  24  to  Dec. 

29.  . 

Zl 

2 

290 

2.  56 

418 

13.4 

11 

Nov.  24  to  Dec. 

22.  . 

28 

2 

284 

2.70 

382 

14.7 

Dec.    15  to  Dec. 

22.  . 

7 

2 

311 

3.21 

333 

16.8 

2 

May      S  to  June 

2.  . 

28 

5 

153 

1.39 

437 

12.8 

2 

June     2  to  June 
June  30  to  July 

30.. 

28 

5 

192 

1.38 

484 

11.6 

2 

28.  . 

28 

5 

224 

.85 

646 

8.7 

3 

April  29  to  May 

27.  . 

28 

2 

209 

1.40 

380 

14.7 

4 

June   10  to  July 
July    30  to  Sept. 

22.. 

42 

2 

212 

.90 

535 

10. S 

S 

10.. 

42 

3 

66 

.77 

441 

12.7 

6 

June   17  to  Sept. 

9.  . 

84 

3 

207 

.60 

676 

8.3 

7 

Dec.    30  to  Feb. 

4.. 

56 

5 

109 

.51 

808 

6.9 

8 

Jan.    24  to  Feb. 

4.  . 

28 

6 

106 

l.OS 

465 

12.0 

9 

Nov.  22  to  Jan. 
Jan.     17  to  Feb. 
Nov.     3  to  Dec. 

4.  . 

42 

2 

210 

1.30 

500 

11.2 

10 

21.. 

Zl 

4 

192 

1.29 

460 

12.2 

11 

IS.  . 

42 

3 

120 

.74 

60S 

9.3 

11 

Dec.    IS  to  Dec. 

22.. 

7 

3 

138 

.55 

620 

8.9 

Totals  and  averages 1 

50 

173 

1.09 

534 

10.0 

>  Omitted  from  averages. 


This  shows  that  on  an  average  the  hogs  gained  about 
T.r  pounds  per  day,  and  that  a  bushel  of  shelled  corn 
weighing  56  pounds  produced  10.9  pounds  of  gain,  live 


THE    PORK-MAKEK  S    MAINSTAY  2"]}^ 

weight.  The  table  shows  a  wide  range  of  returns — as 
low  as  6.9  pounds  of  gain  from  a  bushel  of  corn  in 
one  case,  while  at  the  other  extreme  we  have  16.8 
pounds.  This  last  return,  for  one  week  only,  was  with 
hogs  which  had  previously  followed  steers  fed  corn  on 
blue  grass  pasture.  "While,  then,"  said  Professor  Mor- 
row, "the  gains  may  range  from  six  to  16  pounds,  we 
may  conclude  that  1 1  pounds  of  increase,  live  weight, 
is  a  satisfactory  return  from  a  bushel  of  whole  corn." 

CORN  MEAL  AND  CORN-AND-COB  MEAL 

Fattening  hogs  will  usually  finish  faster  on  corn  meal 
than  on  slielled  corn,  and  many  farmers  favor  corn  meal 
for  that  reason.  Experiments  covering  the  quantity  fed 
l)lainly  show,  howexer,  that  hogs  given  corn  meal  eat 
more  feed  in  a  given  time  than  those  on  shelled  corn. 
When  both  the  feed  eaten  and  the  gains  made  are  taken 
into  consideration,  the  profit  in  favor  of  corn  meal  is  con- 
siderably less  than  many  suppose.  Corn-and-cob  meal  has 
been  shown  to  have  about  the  same  value  as  pure  corn 
meal;  if  any  advantage  is  had  from  corn-and-cob  meal, 
as  is  claimed  by  some  stockmen,  it  no  doubt  largely 
comes  from  the  bulk  furnished  by  the  particles  of  cob, 
which  by  rendering  the  contents  of  the  stomach  less 
compact  or  more  porous  helps  to  their  easier  and  more 
complete  digestion. 

The  Missouri  station  conducted  a  number  of  experi- 
ments in  1904  testing  corn  meal  and  corn-and-cob  meal  in 
comparison  with  other  rations  for  dry-lot  feeding  (Bulle- 
tin N(i.  65),  concerning  which  the  following  was  re- 
ported :  "Corn-and-cob  meal  has  had  advocates  for  many 


2;r^  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

years,  and  some  experiments  with  this  feed,  tested  in  op- 
position to  pure  corn  meal,  have  clearly  proved  the  fact 
that  it  may  be  more  usefnl  for  fattening  purposes  than 
corn  alone.  When  used  with  cattle  it  is  about  as  val- 
uable as  the  same  number  of  pounds  of  pure  corn  meal 
and  the  results  of  tests  have  been,  in  general,  consistent. 
In  this  case  it  is  merely  a  question  as  to  whether  a  bushel 
of  ear  corn  can  be  made  into  corn-and-cob  meal  at  no 
greater  cost  than  the  value  of  14  pounds  of  corn.  In  the 
case  of  hog-feeding,  however,  tests  with  corn-and-cob 
meal  have  not  been  consistent.  Some  investigators  prove 
that  it  is  a  good  and  economical  feed ;  others  demonstrate 
that  it  is  decidedly  not  useful  for  hog  feeding.  There 
are  several  elements  of  difference  between  the  feeding 
of  corn-and-cob  meal  to  hogs  and  to  cattle.  It  must  be 
ground  much  finer  for  the  hog  than  for  the  steer  and 
this  takes  much  more  labor ;  also,  the  characteristics  of 
corn-and-cob  meal  as  regards  bulk  and  palatability 
militate  against  its  usefulness  for  hog-feeding.  The  feed 
is  bulky  and  unpalatable  if  the  percentage  of  cob  is  high. 
The  results  favorable  to  the  use  of  corn-and-cob  meal 
for  hogs  must  have  been  obtained  with  corn  which 
shelled  out  a  very  low  percentage  of  cob.  Such  value  as 
results  from  the  presence  of  the  cob  does  not  come  from 
the  small  amounts  of  nutriment  which  it  contains,  but 
rather  from  the  lightening,  or  extending  tendency  which 
it  has,  allov^^ing  the  meal  to  become  more  thoroughly  im- 
penetrated by  the  digestive  fluids,  and  requiring  longer 
mastication.  Profit,  howe\'er,  requires  that  this  lighten- 
ing or  extending  of  the  ration  be  accomplished  with  the 
minimum  amount  of  indieestible  material.     The  idea  has 


THE    PORK-xMAKER  S    MAINSTAY  2/5 

presented  itself  to  the  writer  that  if  there  is  need  of  this 
nieclianical  improvement  in  the  condition  of  corn  meal 
it  may  be  attained  at  less  expense  by  the  addition  of 
w  lieat  bran  than  by  the  grinding  of  the  corn  cob." 

The  ration  with  corn-and-cob  meal  fed  in  the  fore- 
going experiment  contained  14.3  pounds  of  cob  to  the 
bushel,  which,  said  Prof.  E.  B.  Forbes,  under  whose 
direction  the  experiment  was  conducted,  formed  a  ration 
which  "had  nothing"  to  commend  it.  To  give  an  un- 
promising feed  a  fair  chance,  we  reckoned  the  grinding 
of  corn-and-cob  at  ten  cents  per  100  pounds,  as  with  corn 
meal,  considering  that  with  a  grinder  especially  adapted 
to  ear  corn  the  cost  might  not  be  appreciably  more  than 
with  shelled  corn ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  with  the  best 
grinders  available,  it  was  necessary  to  grind  this  corn- 
and-cob  meal  three  times  before  it  was  fine  enough  to 
feed  to  a  hog.  Even  then  it  should  have  been  finer.  In 
Missouri  there  are  varieties  of  corn  which  shell  out  only 
about  six  pounds  of  cob  per  bushel  and  would  make 
good  corn-and-cob  meal  for  pig-feeding ;  there  are  others 
grown  especially  for  large  woody  cobs,  which  shell  out 
about  25  pounds  of  cob  to  the  bushel,  and,  if  made  into 
corn-and-cob  meal  would  be  only  about  as  ^■aluable  as 
equal  parts  of  corn  meal  and  sawdust."- 

In  the  Missouri  experiment  the  cost  of  100  pounds 
of  pork  was  found  to  be  as  follows  with  corn  at  30  cents 
a  bushel;  wheat  middlings,  $15  a  ton;  wheat  bran,  $13 
a  ton;  oats,  20  cents  a  bushel;  gluten  feed,  $19  a  ton; 
linseed-oil  meal,  $24  a  ton;  ground  bone,  $25.50  a  ton; 
cost  of  grinding  corn,  10  cents  per  100  pounds,  no  ac- 
count being  considered  as  to  the  cost  of  soaking ; 


276  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

Cost  for  100 
Lot  Ration  pounds  gain. 

1  Corn  meal,  3  parts;  linseed-oil  meal,  1  part $2.75 

2  Corn  meal,  20  parts;  linseed-oil  meal,  1  part 2.85 

3  Corn  meal,  2  parts;  wheat  middlings,  1  part 2.88 

4  Corn  meal,  4  parts;  wheat  middlings,  1  part 3.03 

5  Corn  meal,  2  parts;  ground  oats,  1  part.  . 4.28 

6  Corn  meal,  4  parts;  ground  oats,  1  part.  . ". 4.06 

7  Corn  meal,  4  parts;  wheat  bran,  1  part 3.14 

8  Corn-and-cob-meal 4.81 

9  Corn  meal 3.53 

10  Soaked,  whole  shelled  corn 3.10 

11  Shelled  com  and  bone  meal 3.55 

12  Shelled   corn 3.71 

19     Com  meal,  5  parts,  and  one-half  part  each  of  linseed- 
oil  meal  and  gluten  feed 2.87 

Other  experiments  have  shown  that  better  results  were 
obtained  by  soaking  corn-and-cob  meal  12  hours  before 
feeding  than  by  feeding  it  dry.  It  is  difficult  to  finish  on 
corn-and-cob  meal  because  it  lacks  the  quality  for  keep- 
ing the  appetite  to  an  edge  which  will  demand  enough 
grain  for  fattening.  When  hogs  begin  to  tire  of  corn- 
and-cob  meal  it  is  time  to  change  to  whole  corn,  straight 
corn  meal,  or  such  other  feed  or  combination  of  feeds 
as  are  both  palatable  and  fattening. 

FROSTED  AND  SOFT  CORN 

Untimely  severe  frosts  sometimes  damage  the  corn 
crop  so  that  its  marketable  value  is  considerably  lowered, 
but  in  this  event,  as  in  other  cases,  the  hog  comes  to  the 
rescue.  Soft  corn  is  considered  excellent  for  swine,  and 
especially  for  the  young;  in  fact,  many  breeders  believe 
they  can  obtain  better  gains  from  soft  corn  than  with 
the  sound,  hard  grain.  In  soft  corn  the  maturing  of  the 
grain  has  been  checked,  thereby  arresting  the  develop- 
ment of  the  starch  content  or  fat-producing  element. 
\\1icn  used  it  is  advisable  to  add,  for  finishing,  some 
corn  that  is  Avell  matured.     Immature  com  that  is  frozen 


Till-:    rORK-MAKEK  S    MAINSTAY  2// 

and  even  somewhat  soured  may  be  fed  to  hogs,  l)ut  if 
there  is  on  hand  a  greater  quantity  in  that  condition  than 
can  be  used  on  the  farm  before  warm  weather  sets  in  it 
should  be  disposed  of  while  the  weather  is  cold.  Ordi- 
narily it  may  be  used  in  cold  weather  without  danger,  but 
it  should  not  l)e  carried  over  into  the  warm  season,  as  it 
will  ferment  and  become  unfit  for  use. 

FOLLOWING  AFTER  CATTLE 

A  very  common  method  among  farmers  in  the  corn- 
feeding  territory  is  to  put  shotes  of  80  to  150  pounds 
weight  with  the  cattle  whenever  grain  feeding  is  begun — 
generally  about  October  1 — at  the  rate  of  15  to  20  shotes 
to  ten  full-fed  steers,  the  number  depending-  on  the 
amount  of  grain"  used  and  the  manner  in  which  it  is 
placed  before  the  cattle.  In  the  fine  weather  of  fall  and 
early  winter  it  is  common  to  feed  corn  in  the  fodder  or 
in  the  shuck  by  throwing  it  upon  the  grass  in  the  pas- 
ture ;  the  favorite  way  is  to  feed  in  two  different  incl(j- 
sures.  and  each  day  to  turn  the  hogs  into  the  lot  where 
ihe  cattle  were  fed  the  day  previous,  which  enables  them 
to  pick  up  the  leavings  of  the  cattle  without  trampling  on 
and  o\er  that  day's  feed  until  the  cattle  have  eaten  as 
much  of  it  as  they  wish. 

When  full  grain  feed  is  given  to  cattle  in  this  way 
about  two  shotes  to  each  steer  are  not  too  many,  but 
when  corn  is  fed  in  tight  boxes  and  troughs,  so  that  but 
a  small  proportion  is  scattered,  from  one  shote  to  one  and 
one-half  to  the  steer  will  keep  the  feed  lots  well  gleaned. 
If   more    are   kept,    additional   grain   will    be    required 


2/8  SWIXE    IX    AMERICA 

within  their  reach  to  fatten  them  rapidly,  but  if  only 
growth  is  the  object  two  and  one-half  to  three  shotes  to 
each  steer  that  is  on  full  feed  will  fare  pretty  well. 

The  grain  voided  whole  by  the  cattle  seems  to  be  so 
softened  and  digestible  that  hogs  thrive  on  it  amazingly, 
consequently  those  more  ach-anced  are  soon  in  a  condition 
to  market  and  others  can  occupy  their  places  in  the  feed- 
ing lots.  Hogs  seldom  fatten  more  rapidly,  inexpensive- 
ly, or  with  less  outlay  of  labor  than  when  handled  in 
this  way,  and  the  method  is  held  in  high  favor  from  the 
fact  that  every  pound  of  increase  from  the  droppings  and 
scattered  corn  is  clear  gain,  none  of  which  would  be 
realized  without  the  hog.  One  too  common  defect  in 
this  method  of  managing  is  that  the  hogs  are  not  general- 
ly provided  with  suitable  sleeping  quarters,  where  they 
can  be  comfortable  without  crowding,  and  are  out  of 
danger  of  being  trampled  and  horned  by  the  cattle. 
When  hogs  following  cattle  become  heavy  and  clumsy, 
they  should  be  taken  out  of  the  steer  lots,  giving  way  to 
others  more  acti\-e. 

The  gain  made  by  giving  hogs  access  to  the  droppings 
of  cattle  will  depend  considerably  upon  the  manner  in 
which  the  corn  is  fed.  The  waste  from  feeding  corn  in 
any  manner  is  always  great  enough  to  make  it  profitable 
to  follow  with  hogs,  but  the  gains  by  the  latter  will  natur- 
ally be  larger  when  ear  or  shelled  corn  is  fed.  The  Illin- 
ois experiment  station  has  found  (Bulletin  No.  103)  that 
in  providing  enough  pigs  to  consume  the  undigested  feed 
in  the  droppings  of  steers  twice  as  many  are  required 
when  corn  is  given  whole,  as  in  cases  where  corn  meal 
is  fed.     The  experiment  at  the  Illinois  station  covered 


THE    rOKK-:\IAKEK  S    MAIXSTAV 


279 


six  months  from  Xovember,  1903,  to  June,  1904,  in  the 
feech'ng-  of  eorn  in  various  forms  to  steers  which  were 
followed  by  shotes  averaging  about  no  pounds  each  at 
tlie  beginning.  The  number  of  shotes  kept  with  the 
steers  varied  according  to  the  character  of  the  ration, 
being  made  sufficient  to  consume  the  droppings  axaihdjlc 
for  pork  production.  The  results  in  pork  production 
are  shown  in  the  following  table  : 

PORK    MADK    FROM    DROPPIXCS    IX    THK    VARIOUS    LOTS 


Form  in  which  < 
was  fed. 


Xumber 

Pounds 

of  pigs 

pork 

per 

per 

steer. 

steer. 

I  p.., 


Pork  per    |    Per  cent  cost  of 
100  pcninds     feed  Kiven  steers 
paid  for  by  gain 
of  hogs 
following' 


fed  to 
steers. 


Silage  and  com  meal 

Ear  corn 

Ear   com  (without  nitroge- 
nous concentrates) 

Com  meal 

Com  meal  (hay  chaffed) .  .  . 

Com-and-cob  meal 

Com -and -cob  meal  (hay 
chaffed) 

Shock  corn  and  ear  com.  .  . 

Shelled  com  (mud  lot) 

Shelled  com 


.10 

6.30 

.53 

62.60 

.53 

74.13 

.27 

20.66 

.27 

20.02 

.27 

18.00 

.27 

24.00 

.60 

73.50 

.70 

85.80 

.70 

111.50 

.46 

.63 
1.81 
2.79 
3.61 


14.05 
3.00 
2.86 
2.60 

3.34 
12.72 
12.86 
16.67 


'  Computed  on  basis  of  ear  corn  in  silage  and  shock  com. 
*  Gain  on  hogs  valued  at  $5.00  per  100  pounds. 


1'he  feeding  of  Lot  lo  was  done  on  a  l)rick  pavement 
where  the  shotes  were  al)le  to  utilize  nearl\-  all  of  the 
waste,  wliile  Lot  9.  which  was  fed  in  a  mud-lot,  had.  at 
times,  but  little  opportunity  to  recover  the  waste.  The 
report  on  this  experiment  said:  "It  should  be  borne  in 
mind  tliat  at  no  time  during  the  test  did  the  hogs  get 
other  fcL'd  than  that  secured  from  the  droppings  of  the 
steers,  and  that  the  steers  did  not  get  as  heav}-  grain 
rations  for  as  long  a  time  as  is  tlie  usual  practice  among 


28o  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

cattle  feeders.  This  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  gains 
of  hogs  and  the  ^•alue  of  the  same  reported  here  should 
be  looked  upon  as  the  minimum  pork  production  to  be 
anticipated  in  cattle-fattening  operations."  Larger  gains 
were  made  by  the  hogs  where  corn  only  was  fed  to  the 
cattle  than  where  it  was  supplemented  Ijy  linseed-oil 
meal  and  gluten  meal. 

The  amount  of  waste  when  whole  corn  is  fed  to 
steers  may  generally  be  figured  at  about  25  per  cent.  It 
is  better  for  practical  results  to  have  more  shotes  than 
are  needed  to  clean  up  the  droppings,  rather  than  a 
smaller  number,  for  they  will  thereby  obtain  more  exer- 
cise and  be  less  liable  to  laziness  with  consequent  injury 
or  disease.  In  case  more  hogs  are  turned  in  than  are 
necessary  to  take  care  of  the  dropping"S,  they  should  Ije 
given  sufficient  additional  feed,  preferably  on  a  feeding 
lloor  in  a  lot  apart  from  the  cattle.  The  exercise  ob- 
tained by  shotes  which  run  with  cattle  is  an  important 
consideration,  and  so  small  a  number  should  not  be 
turned  in  with  steers  that  they  are  not  compelled  to 
work  for  their  feed. 

"HOGGING   OFF"    CORN 

AVhen  farm  labor  is  high  priced  and  difficult  to  secure, 
the  helpful  hog  can  relieve  the  situation  ])y  harvesting 
the  corn  for  himself.  The  practice  of  turning  swine 
into  a  portion  of  the  field  to  gather  the  corn  they  eat, 
which  is  termed  "hogging  off"  or  "hogging  down," 
was  formerly  much  condemned  as  a  shiftless  or  lazy 
procedure,  but  it  has  grown  in  favor  and  many  find  it 
good   farm  economy  when  rightly  managed,  especially 


THE    pork-maker's    MAINSTAY  28  T 

It  is  not  advisable  to  turn 
]i(jgs  into  the  entire  corn  field,  nor  to  allow  them  access 
to  the  standing-  corn  too  early,  as  the  grain  will  not  then 
liave  the  feeding  value  it  has  after  full  maturity,  and  the 
hog-s  are  more  liable  to  the  ailments  that  may  come  from 
using  new  corn.  ''Maturity"  does  not,  however,  neces- 
sarily mean,  for  this  purpose,  that  the  corn  must  be 
llinty  or  even  hard. 

Before  hogs  are  put  on  full  feed  on  new  corn  they 
should  be  prepared  for  it  by  a  gradual  introduction  ;  this 
may  be  by  g-iving  them  green  corn,  stalks  and  ears,  in 
increasing  quantities  along  with  their  dry  feed.  1^hus 
the  chang-e  from  old  to  new  feed  or  from  dry  to  fresh 
feed  is  not  made  so  rapidly  that  the  hogs  suffer.  If 
ihey  are  turned  into  an  acre  or  two  at  a  time,  or  not 
more  than  they  can  clear  up  in  a  period  of  two  weeks, 
best  results  will  be  secured.  The  portion  of  the  field 
set  aside  for  them  may  be  separated  from  the  rest  by 
a  temporary  fence  or  hurdles.  .V  wire  fence  with  posts 
temporaril}-  located  as  wanted  is  sometmies  used,  but 
wire  fencing  is  difficult  to  handle  in  heavy  corn. 

"Hogging  off"  corn  is  most  advantageous  when  the 
weather  is  dr}-.  It  is  not  judicious  to  keep  hogs  in 
the  fields  after  heavy  rains.  If  the  season  is  a  wet  one 
it  will  be  better  to  keep  them  out  (^f  the  corn  field,  as 
turning  them  in  is  likely  to  waste  the  corn  and  do  in- 
jury to  the  hogs  and  to  the  land.  On  dry  ground,  how- 
ever, the  droppings  by  the  hogs  amount  to  a  distribution 
of  valuable  manure.  In  case  this  is  liable  to  be  washed 
off  the  land  by  rains  after  the  corn  has  been  harvested  it 
will  be  well  to  go  over  the  field  with  a  sharp  disk  or 


282  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

spike-toothed  disk  harrow  to  loosen  the  surface  soil  so 
that  the  manure  will  be  the  better  retained  and  absorbed. 

SAVING    MADE    BV    "HOGGING    OFF" 

Where  conditions  are  favoraljle  hogs  will  clean  up 
held  corn  with  but  inconsiderable  waste  and  leave  com- 
paratively little,  if  any,  to  be  gathered  afterward.  One 
of  the  agricultural  developments  in  later  years  is  that 
the  swine  of  greatest  profit  and  wholesomeness  are 
produced  by  their  having  pasturage  or  pasture  conditions 
from  pighood  to  marketing.  "Hogging  off"  corn  is  pas- 
turing on  grain  instead  of  grass,  and  this,  supervised 
with  good  judgment,  is  easily  economical  rather  than 
wasteful.  Pastured  in  cornfields,  the  swine  are  benefited 
by  the  exercise  and  healthful  surroundings.  It  is  some- 
times estimated  that  the  expense  of  husking,  cribbing 
and  feeding  corn  is  as  great  as  that  of  growing  it, 
and  even  if  this  is  or  is  not  approximately  correct,  the 
"hogging  off"  process  can  be  the  means  of  a  large 
saving.  A  method  often  followed  is  that  of  turning  in 
the  fattening  hogs  first  and  letting  the  1)rood  sows  and 
shotes  follow  them  later,  which  will  gi\e  a  cleaning  up 
with  a  minimum  of  waste.  Ears  which  are  beyond  the 
reach  of  swine  may  be  gathered.  Pumpkins  or  rape 
may  be  planted  to  advantage  in  the  section  of  the  corn 
field  intended  for  the  hogs,  thus  providing  a  most  whole- 
some variety  of  feed  and  more  succulence. 

As  an  instance  of  methods  and  results  in  "hogging 
down"  corn  the  following  practical  bit  of  experience  is 
given  by  an  Indiana  subscriber  to  Farm,  Stock  and 
II 0.' lie: 


THE    PORK-MAKERS    MAINSTAY  283 

"In  September,  1905,  I  decided  to  allow  my  shotes, 
loi  in  number,  to  gather  their  own  feed  for  a  time, 
and  having  anticipated  the  same  during  the  early 
summer,  I  had  sown  in  seven  acres  of  corn,  at  the  last 
plowing.  Dwarf  Essex  rape  seed,  and,  having  an  abun- 
dance of  rain  to  aid  germination  and  growth,  the  rape 
did  remarkably  well,  and  when  the  corn  was  enough 
matured  to  feed  to  hogs  safely  the  rape  was  from  ten  to 
12  inches  high  and  a  good,  even  stand.  I  began  using 
this  corn  by  cutting  and  throwing  it  over  the  fence  to 
the  shotes  on  September  5,  and  on  that  date  the  loi  head 
averaged  79  pounds  each,  the  lot  weighing  7,980  pounds. 

"After  gradually  increasing  the  quantity  for  about 
ten  days,  I  turned  the  shotes  into  the  field  to  help  them- 
selves. Idle  corn  was  an  excellent  crop,  probably  averag- 
ing 85  to  90  bushels  per  acre.  The  shotes  all  did  ex- 
ceedingly well,  not  one  being  sick.  On  October  24  the 
corn  seemed  to  be  all  consumed  and  the  rape  as  well. 
That  day  being  a  very  rainy  one  and  not  suitable  for 
weighing  the  hogs,  I  turned  them  into  their  former  pas- 
ture and  fed  them  husked  corn  for  the  day.  The  next 
day  they  weighed  18,100  pounds,  an  average  gain  of  100 
pounds  each  for  the  50  days  they  were  thus  fed.  I  sold 
them  a  few  days  later  at  $4.85  per  100  pounds,  weighed 
at  home.  As  stock  hogs  the  shotes  were  worth  $5  per 
100  pounds  at  the  beginning  of  the  feeding  period,  or 
$398.95.  I  received  for  them  $876.88,  or  $477.93  gain, 
equal  to  $68.28  per  acre  for  the  seven  acres  of  corn  and 
rape  consumed.  Conditions  were  most  fa\-orable  for 
using  the  crop  in  this  way,  as  the  weather  was  dry  and 
there  was  practically  no  waste.    I  took  a  basket  and  went 


2^4  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

over  the  field  a  few  days  after  turning  tlie  hogs  out  and 
got  less  than  a  bushel  of  corn  from  what  remained 
standing." 

Bulletin  No.  in.  Bureau  of  Plant  industry,  U.  S.  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  ij  authority  for  this :  "An  Iowa 
farmer  began  hogging  down  corn  several  years  ago, 
using  20  acres  the  first  year.  He  watched  carefully  the 
feeding  of  the  hogs  on  this  field  and  concluded  that  no 
more  corn  was  wasted  than  would  have  been  left  in 
the  field  by  the  average  busker.  Since  that  time  he  has 
hogged  down  all  his  corn,  thus  saving  the  expense  of 
husking.  This  man  says  the  cost  of  husking  for  one 
year  will  fence  the  field  hog-tight  if  there  is  already  a 
wire  fence  for  cattle.  Husking  40  acres  of  corn  yielding 
40  bushels  per  acre,  at  four  cents  per  bushel,  amounts  to 
$64.  n  the  40  acres  are  a  square  field  this  allows  20 
cents  a  rod  for  the  fence  the  first  year.  With  a  cattle 
fence  already  provided  this  will  buy  the  wire  to  make 
it  a  good  hog-tight  fence.  Besides  this  there  are  two 
great  objects  to  be  attained  by  this  method  of  harvesting- 
corn:  (i)  The  improvement  of  the  land  and  (2)  the 
health  of  the  hogs.  The  farmer  referred  to  says  that  in 
his  first  year's  experience  he  snapped  20  acres  of  corn 
beside  the  field  hogged  down.  The  next  spring  both 
were  sown  to  small  grain  under  the  same  conditions  and 
with  the  same  preparation.  The  wheat  on  the  land  where 
corn  was  hogged  down  made  five  and  the  oats  seven 
busliels  more  to  the  acre  than  did  the  other.  The  differ- 
ence is  just  as  noticeable  in  a  succeeding  corn  crop.  The 
husks,  cobs,  stalks,  and  leaves  all  remain  on  the  land,  and 


THE    PORK-]\rAKKR's    MAINSTAY  2S5 

those,  with  tlie  manure  from  tlie  hog-s,  enrich  the  soil  anil 
add  organic  matter  to  it. 

"This  man  allows  his  pigs  to  run  in  the  corn  as  soon 
as  the  land  is  plowed  the  last  time,  but  does  not  let  the 
older  hogs  into  the  held  until  the  corn  is  in  good  condi- 
tion to  feed  in  the  fall.  He  says  he  has  also  had  good 
results  from  letting  cattle  into  the  corn  first  and  follow- 
ing these  with  hogs.  He  thinks  this  is  the  most  practical 
solution  of  the  labor  problem  when  help  is  so  high- 
(jriced  and  scarce." 

D.  A.  Gaumnitz  and  associates,  A.  D.  Wilson  and  L. 
B.  Bassett  of  the  Minnesota  station  (Bulletin  No.  104), 
made  a  two-year  test  of  hogging  off  corn  in  comparison 
with  other  methods  of  feeding  it  to  swine.  Observations 
during  tin's  test,  together  with  experiences  collected 
from  farmers  in  other  states  who  have  practiced  hogging 
off  their  corn  one  or  more  years,  ha\-e  justified  Mr. 
Gaumm"tz  in  the  following  summary : 

''Hogging  off'  corn  may  be  practiced  with  profit  on 
many  farms. 

"Pork  was  produced  with  less  grain  In-  hogging  off* 
corn  than  by  feeding  ears  or  snapped  corn  in  yards. 

"Hogs  fed  in  the  field  gained  nearl}-  one-third  more 
rapidly  than  those  fed  in  yards. 

"The  cost  of  fencing  corn  fields  may  l)e  from  $1.00 
to  $2.50  less  per  acre  than  the  cost  of  husking  the  corn. 

"The  stover  lost  in  following  this  method  is,  in  many 
cases,  not  worth  the  cost  of  saving  it. 

"It  requires  no  more  labor  to  prepare  for  sul)sequent 
crops  fields  that  have  been  hogged  off  tlian  those  that 
have  been  treated  by  the  ordinary  methods  of  harvesting. 


286 


SWINE    IN    AMERICA 


"Hogs  waste  no  more  corn  in  the  field  than  when  fed 
in  the  yards.  They  pick  the  corn  as  clean  as  most  men 
do  in  husking. 

"Three  pounds  of  rape  seed  costing  15  cents  sown  in 
corn  at  its  last  cultivation  furnish  considerable  suc- 
culent feed,  which  may  take  the  place  of  high-priced 
shorts. 

"Labor  in  caring  for  hogs  is  not  increased  by  hogging 
corn,  but  may  be  decreased,  if  systematic  methods  are 
employed. 

"It  is  not  expected  that  all  corn  raised  be  fed  off  with 
hogs,  but  the  amount  they  can  clean  up  from  the  time 
it  is  nicely  glazed  until  the  weather  becomes  unfavorable 
(two  or  three  months  in  Minnesota)  may  be  very 
economically  fed  in  this  way. 

"Hogs  should  not,  as  a  rule,  be  turned  into  more 
corn  at  one  time  than  they  can  eat  up  clean  in  two  or 
three  weeks.     The  shorter  period  is  preferable." 

The  following  table  is  made  by  Mr.  Gaumnitz  to  show 
approximately  the  number  of  days  required  for  hogging 
off  an  acre  of  corn  by  a  given  number  of  s\^ne  weighing 
125  pounds : 


Will  keep 
Will  keep 
Will  keep 
Will  keep 
Will  keep 
Will  keep 
Will  keep 
Will  keep 


10  Hogs, 
20  Hogs 
30  Hogs 
40  Hogs 
SO  Hogs 
60  Hogs 
7n  Hogs 
80  Hogs 


With  Com  Shrunk  to  Jan.  1,  and  Yielding  ; 


Davs 

2  2. '5 
11.2 
7,5 


3Sbu. 
per 
acre. 


Days 
26.2 
13.1 
8.7 
6.S 
S.2 
4.4 
3.7 
3.3 


40bu 
per 


Days 
30.0 
15.0 
10.0 
7.5 
6.0 
5.0 
4.3 
3.7 


45bu. 
per 


Days 


50bu. 
per 


SSbu. 
per 
acre. 


Days 

41.2 
20.6 
13.7 
10.3 
8.2 
6.8 
5.8 
5.1 


60bu 
per 
acre. 


Davs 
45.0 
22.5 
15.0 
11.2 
9.0 
7.5 
6.4 
5.6 


65bu 
per 
acre . 


70bu. 
per 
acre. 


Davs 
5  2. '5 
26.2 
17,5 
14.1 
10.5 
8.7 
7.5 
6.S 


THE    PORK-MAKERS    MAIXSTAY  28/ 

When  hogs  have  been  full  fed  as  they  are  hogging  off 
corn,  they  should  be  marketed,  as  quick  gains  are  not 
made  later  in  yards,  and  the  risk  of  loss  is  not  incon- 
siderable. 

James  Atkinson  is  of  the  opinion  that  it  is  a  great 
mistake  to  begin  hogging  off  corn  too  earl\'.  "True, 
they  will  eat  some  of  the  leaves  when  the  corn  is  suc- 
culent, but  even  with  this  there  is  still  an  enormous 
waste.  It  is  our  opinion  that  a  given  acreage  of  corn 
will  go  three  times  as  far  after  it  begins  to  dent  as  it 
will  if  pastured  when  in  the  roasting-ear  condition." 

FEEDING   NEW  CORN 

Many  farmers  in  the  corn  belt  instinctively  associate 
the  thought  of  new  corn  with  "hog  cholera,"  and  tlie 
belief  is  common  in  some  localities  that  the  use  of  new 
corn  will  cause  the  disease.  This  may  indirectly  be  some- 
what true,  as  the  sudden  change  to  new  corn  is  not  un- 
likely to  produce  a  feverish  condition  which  would  en- 
courage the  thriving  of  any  latent  disease  germs.  It  is 
undeniable  that  swine  appear  to  be  more  generally  afflict- 
ed with  disease  about  the  time  new  corn  is  made  use  of, 
but  an  examination  might  show  that  such  a  condition  is 
ratlier  to  be  expected.  \\  hen  the  new  corn  is  given  they 
greatly  relish  the  soft,  succulent,  fresh  food,  and,  if  per- 
mitted to  do  so,  will  eat  enough  to  change  their  probable 
constipation  to  acute  diarrhea,  and  put  them  in  a  con- 
dition which  in\ites  other  ailments. 

Much  of  the  so-called  cholera  which  comes  in  the  au- 
tumn is  but  the  diseased  condition  brought  about  by  a 


288  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

sudden  cliange  from  a  limited,  dry  diet  to  a  plethora  of 
the  appetizing  new  corn.  The  temptation  to  rush  hogs 
off  to  market  before  cold  weather  approaches  should  not 
encourage  the  farmer  to  make  too  sud<len  a  change  in 
his  methods  of  feeding.  When  the  earliest  corn  is  in  full 
roasting-ear  stage  it  may  be  given,  stalk  and  all,  in  mod- 
erate quantity,  without  any  change  at  first  in  the  usual 
feeding.  As  the  corn  hardens  it  may  be  gi\-en  more 
liberally,  but  by  a  gradual  increase.  By  the  time  the 
corn  is  fully  matured  the  hogs  will  have  become  well 
accustomed  to  it.  The  judicious  use  of  the  new  corn 
is  purely  an  application  of  the  judgment  which  should 
pre\'ail  in  feeding  at  all  times. 

Hogs  that  have  had  access  to  plenty  of  green  pas- 
ture are  less  liable  to  be  disturbed  by  green  or  new 
corn  than  those  previously  kept  in  dry  lots.  Where  they 
have  been  pastured  on  rape  or  green,  succulent  food  of 
that  character,  the  risk  is  greatly  diminished.  Pumpkins 
are  excellent  feed  for  hogs  about  to  be  put  on  green 
corn.  They  supply  succulence,  and  their  seeds  serve 
well  as  a  vermifuge. 

"It  is  not  alone  when  new  corn  is  fed,"  says  John 
Cownie.  "that  the  utmost  care  should  be  taken  in  feeding, 
but  at  all  times  the  strictest  vigilance  should  be  main- 
tained as  regards  both  feed  and  water.  \\'ith  the  hogs 
in  thrifty  condition,  new  corn  can  be  fed  without  danger, 
but  judgment  must  be  exercised  or  the  worst  results  will 
follow.  In  feeding  horses  each  animal  receives  its  allow- 
ance, and  it  is  only  by  carelessness  or  accident  that  a 
horse  fed  in  a  stall  could  receive  an  undue  alk^wance. 
Rut  in   feeding  a  herd  of  hogs  there  are  alwavs  some 


THE    I'ORK-MAKEK  S    MAINSTAY  289 

more  ravenous  than  others,  and  it  requires  the  utmost 
care  to  pre\ent  a  part  of  them  from  getting  more  than 
their  proportionate  share.  I'his  being  the  case,  and  it 
being  impossible  to  feed  each  separately,  as  with  horses, 
It  naturally  follows  that  other  feed  must  be  supplied  in 
addition  to  the  new  corn.  Grass,  oats,  old  corn  or  other 
grain  should  be  given  liberally  in  conjunction  with  new 
corn,  and  when  grain  or  shorts,  etc.,  are  fed  it  will  be 
found  advisable  to  satisfy  the  animals  with  this  kind  of 
feed  before  adding  the  new  corn.  In  the  feeding  of 
new  corn  there  should  be  no  sudden  change  from  the 
former  ration,  but  it  should  be  added  so  gradually  as 
to  cause  no  derangement  in  the  digestive  organs.  Hogs 
fed  new  corn  are  liable  to  be  afTected  with  worms,  and 
hardwood  ashes,  charcoal  and  salt  are  all  efficient  in 
cither  destroying  them  or  preventing  their  increase. 
Turpentine  and  castor  oil  are  now,  as  in  the  clays  of 
our  childhood,  sovereign  remedies  for  worms,  and 
a  teaspoon ful  of  turpentine  with  double  the  quantity  of 
raw  linseed  oil  for  each  hog.  and  mixed  in  slop. proves 
\  cry  efficient.  Carbolic  acid,  five  to  eight  drops  for  each 
hog,  mixed  with  the  water  given  to  drink,  will  aid  in 
destroying  disease  germs,  and  the  utmost  cleanliness  in 
all  the  surroundings,  and  especially  in  bed.  food  and 
water,  will  aid  in  promoting"  health  and  reduce  in  no 
small  degree  the  risk  from  loss  in  feeding  new  corn." 

DANGER  IN  GREEN  STALKS 

When  the  green  stalks  are  given  to  liogs  care  should 
be  used  to  prevent  cattle  from  having  access  to  the  woody 


.,'90  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

liber  wliich  the  swine  will  leave  after  chewing-  the  stalks. 
Pig-s  relish  chewing  the  stalk  for  the  sweetness  in  it,  but 
leave  enough  saccharine  matter  in  the  fiber  to  make  it 
attractive  to  cattle,  especially  the  younger  stock.  This 
fiber  is  indigestible,  and  the  cattle,  if  allowed  to  pick  it 
up.  will  frequently  eat  a  sufficient  quantity  to  cause  im- 
paction and  harmful  if  not  fatal  results.  It  is  not  safe  to 
let  cattle  into  yards  where  swine  are  given  green  corn 
stalks. 

CORX   SUPPLEMENTS    AND    SUBSTITUTES 

The  proper  supplementary  feeds  which  balance  corn  in 
a  ration  not  only  enable  the  hog  to  show  better  results  in 
fattening,  but  they  also  make  possible  a  more  economical 
ration.  Feeding  a  hog  on  corn  alone,  wdiatever  the  form, 
is  a  false  economy  by  wdiich  the  feeder  cheats  both  him- 
self and  the  hog.  Its  natural  supplements  are  those 
which  furnish  protein  and  ifiineral  matter,  and,  if  not 
easilv  available  on  the  farm  are  usually  purchasable  so  as 
to  be  used  at  a  profit.  Some,  such  as  clover,  alfalfa  and 
other  pasturage,  are  unquestioned  as  to  their  desirable 
qualities,  and  others,  such  as  the  prepared  meat  scraps 
from  the  great  packing  houses  and  knowm  by  their  trade 
names  of  meat  meal  or  tankage,  have  rapidly  come  in 
favor  for  the  large  amount  of  protein  they  supply.  The 
ash  or  mineral  matter  of  the  corn  grain  is  considered  in- 
digestible for  swine,  and  the  absence  of  mineral  matter 
impairs  tlie  nutritive  process  and  injures  the  structure; 
yet  it  is  neither  difficult  nor  expensive  to  supply  hogs 


THE    rOKK-MAKEK  S    MAINSTAV  2gi 

with  ashes,  salt,  coal,  cliarcoal  or  charred  cobs  as  cor- 
rectives, with  corn.  The  supplementary  feeds  are  treated 
in  their  respective  chapters  following. 

In  time  of  a  short  corn  crop  from  droug-ht  or  for  any 
Dlher  reason,  the  farmer  may  be  compelled  to  look  to 
some  substitute  as  an  early  feed,  and  t)iis  may  be  at  times 
a  perplexing  problem.  When  corn  is  scarce,  other  feed- 
ing stuffs  are  likel}^  to  be  high  in  price.  .\n  Iowa  man  of 
long  experience,  who  has  weathered  a  number  of  "corn 
famines"  as  a  hog-raiser,  and  lias  devoted  special  atten- 
tion to  this  question,  gives  advice  undoubtedly  most  prac- 
tical : 

"We  advise,"  he  has  said  in  Wallaces'  Farmer,  "hrst 
the  sowing  as  early  in  the  spring  as  possible  of  a  mix- 
ture of  oats,  spring  wheat,  barley  and  rape;  about  three 
l)oun(ls  of  rape  seed  per  acre  and  about  one-third  of  the 
usual  seeding  of  each  of  the  rest.  Get  this  in  just  as 
quick  as  you  can  in  the  spring.  In  addition,  we  would 
plow  up  the  barn  lot.  if  possible,  after  the  manure  is 
hauled  out.  and  the  lots  around  the  buildings  where  cat- 
tie  ha\e  tramped  out  the  grasses.  \\'hen  the  growth  is 
high  enough  to  make  a  bite,  we  would  turn  in  the  hogs. 
Where  it  is  not  possible  to  sow  a  held  in  this  way  we 
would  at  least  have  two  or  three  acres  sown  around  the 
buildings.  Bear  in  mind  that  you  cannot  get  this  in  too 
soon  in  the  spring. 

"\\'e  would,  if  i)ossible.  put  an  acre  or  two  in  oats  and 
Canada  peas,  sowing  these  just  as  early  as  we  could. 
Prepare  the  ground  and  sow  the  peas  at  the  rate  of  i>4 
bushels  per  acre  and  plow  them  under  about  three  inches 
deep,  then  a  few  days  afterwards,  and  before  they  are 


2CJ2  SWliXE   IX    AMERICA 

Up.  SOW  oats  at  the  rate  of  about  two  bushels  per  acre 
and  harrow  them  in.  We  would  sow  Early  Champion 
oats.  This  in  the  latitude  of  central  Iowa  should  give  a 
good  grain  feed  by  the  25th  of  June;  earlier,  south,  and 
later,  north.  If  you  cannot  get  the  Early  Champion  oats, 
sow  Manshury  barley.  The  next  thing  we  would  advise 
is  to  select  the  \'ery  earliest  varieties  of  corn,  say  the 
Early  Wisconsin  or  Pride  of  the  North.  It  is  not  worth 
wiiile  to  plant  them  until  about  the  usual  time  of  early 
corn-planting.  We  would  plant  in  the  latitude  of  central 
Iowa  about  May  i,  if  possible,  with  a  drill,  about  one- 
third  thicker  than  the  usual  stand  of  corn,  say  a  stalk 
every  ten  inches.  This  will  furnish  early  corn — not  so 
much  of  it  as  the  later  varieties,  but  by  feeding  it  you 
will  get  the  market  price  of  old  corn.  Except  in  case  of 
necessity,  we  would  let  it  mature,  if  possible,  but  wc 
would  by  all  means  grow  these  early  varieties,  say  to  the 
extent  of  from  three  to  seven  or  eight  acres. 

"By  this  method  the  farmer  can  have  pasturage  for 
his  hogs,  of  the  best  kind,  until  the  peas  are  formed. 
The  corn  will  furnish  him  grain  feed  later.  He  will  be 
astonished  at  the  amount  of  feed  he  will  get  from  two 
or  three  acres  of  rape,  but  he  should  sow  the  grains  with 
it,  as  the  hogs  will  prefer  them  until  the  rape  is  about 
eight  or  ten  inches  high,  after  which  they  will  prefer  the 
rape  until  the  grains  begin  to  form  seed. 

"The  shortage  of  the  corn  crop  means  not  merely  the 
sale  at  a  cheap  price  of  a  large  amount  of  what  the  Eng- 
lish call  store  cattle  or  stock  cattle,  and  stock  hogs  and 
stock  sheep,  but  it  will  prevent  the  growing  of  hogs  the 
next  vear.     There  is  a  harvest  here  for  the  man  who  can 


THE    PORK-MAKER  S    MAINSTAY  293 

carry  his  pigs  tlirongli  on  these  cheap  home-grown  feeds 
until  he  can  grow  the  corn  to  finish  them  off.  Do  not 
stop  growing  hogs  because  corn  is  high.  Grow  all  the 
more,  and  take  this  way  of  producing  the  frames  cheaply 
to  be  finished  off  on  next  year's  corn  crop." 

Ev'en  when  corn  is  high  the  relative  price  for  pork  fre- 
quently makes  it  tlie  cheapest  feed  for  finishing;  fifty- 
cent  corn  is  not  expensive  feed  for  six-cent  hogs.  Up 
to  the  last  six  weeks  of  feeding,  wheat,  rye  or  other 
ciieaper  substitutes  may  be  used  witli  grass,  but  in  the 
ordinary  course  corn  will  be  the  best  dependence  for  the 
close  of  the  fattening  period. 

THE  SOUTH  CAN  RAISE  PORK 

In  some  of  the  southern  states,  where  cotton  is  made 
tile  paramount  crop,  small  attention,  relatively,  is  given 
to  pork  production,  greatly  to  the  disadvantage  of  the 
people  whose  supply  of  hog-products  must  be  procured 
from  a  distance  and  always  at  high  cost.  These  states 
not  being  regarded  as  corn-growing  territory  in  any  con- 
siderable way,  and  the  chief  attention  there  being  given 
to  cotton-growing,  the  idea  has  always  prevailed  that 
the  pork  and  lard  needed  there  could  be  purchased  more 
economically  than  they  could  be  produced. 

An  experiment  reported  (Bulletin  No.  T07)  from  the 
branch  experiment  station  at  Delta.  Panola  count}^ 
(northwestern)  Mississippi,  seems  to  refute  the  idea 
that  pork,  and  some  corn  as  well,  cannot  be  raised  to  ad- 
vantage in  the  South,  and  a  gist  of  the  report  is  presented 


294  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

December,  122  pigs,  practically  pure-bred  Berkshires, 
were  marketed,  at  an  average  age  of  about  10  months, 
for  $1,382.51.  They  were  the  produce  of  ten  sows,  far- 
rowing two  litters  a  year.  The  fall  pigs  were  farrowed 
from  September  20  to  October  10,  and  the  spring  litters 
from  March  18  to  April  22.  Thirty-two  were  sold  on 
foot  and  averaged  175/2  pounds;  85  were  dressed  and 
averaged  135  3-8  pounds  and  five  gilts  for  breeding 
averaged  196  pounds.  A  financial  statement  showing 
cost  of  production,  proceeds  of  sale  and  net  profit,  is 
as  follows : 

EXPENSES 

265  bushels  of  corn  at  70  cents  per  bushel $185.50 

260  bushels  of  corn  (estimated)  at  65  cents  x)cr  bushel.  .  .  169.00 

3  tons  of  shorts  at  $25 75.00 

Rent  on  13^  acres  of  land  at  $6  per  acre 81.00 

Seed  used  on  pasture  lots 29.50 

Preparing  and  seeding  pasture  lots 39.50 

Total  expense S579.50 

PROCEEDS 
32  pigs,  average  live  weight,  l75i  pounds,  at  6  cents  per 

pound $336.96 

85  pigs,  average  dressed  weight,   135   3-8  pounds,  at  8 

cents  per  pound 920.55 

S  gilts,  for  breeding  purposes 125.00 

Total  proceeds $1,382.51 

Net  profit 803.01 

If  the  five  gilts,  which  averaged  196  pounds,  had  been 

sold  at  6  cents,  the  net  profit  would  have  been .  .  .      736.81 

"The  corn  (estimated)  in  the  above  expense  account 
was  grown  on  13  acres  of  land  after  a  crop  of  oats  had 
been  harvested.  Peas  were  planted  in  the  corn,  and  the 
hogs  were  turned  in  the  field  in  the  fall,  eating  the  peas 
and  corn  together.  In  order  to  get  the  peas  planted  in 
time  to  mature,  the  corn  was  given  only  one  working, 
and  20  bushels  per  acre  is  a  fair  estimate  of  the  yield." 
For  pasture  these  swine  had  Bermuda  grass,  red  clover, 
wheat,  Dwarf  Essex  rape,  and  sorghum. 


THE    PORK-MAKP:r'S    xMAlNSTAY  295 

J.  W.  Fox,  the  author  of  the  bulletin,  adds  this :  "The 
farm  is  fenced,  making  it  possible  to  fatten  the  hogs 
largely  on  peas  planted  in  the  corn  as  a  catch  crop  for 
fertilizing  purposes.  This  crop  gives  the  South  a  dis- 
tinct advantage  over  other  sections,  and  this  feature  of 
the  work  cannot  be  too  strongly  urged.  The  fact  that 
the  peas  can  be  converted  into  money  without  any  cost 
of  harvesting  should  add  an  additional  incentive  to  grow 
more  corn  and  peas  and  thus  improve  the  land,  conduct 
the  farm  with  less  labor,  and  keep  the  cotton  money  at 
home." 

Bulletin  No.  143  of  the  Alabama  experiment  station, 
issued  in  July,  1908,  gives  a  summary  by  D.  T.  Gray,  J. 
F.  Duggar  and  J.  \V.  Ridgeway  of  three  years'  work 
in  swine  production,  with  a  view  to  making  a  compari- 
son between  linishing  hogs  upon  corn  alone  and  upon 
corn  supplemented  with  either  green  crops  or  concen- 
trates. An  aggregate  of  90  hogs  was  used  in  the  vari- 
ous tests.  The  conclusions  arrived  at  from  this  work 
were  summarized  as  follows,  and  are,  of  course,  from, 
the  standpoint  of  a  typical  southern  or  cotton-growing 
state. 

AVhen  corn  was  used  alone  as  a  ration  for  fattening 
hogs  both  the  daily  gains  and  the  hnancial  outcome  were 
unsatisfactory.  Money  was  lost  in  every  case  where 
corn  was  fed  without  a  supplement. 

When  corn  was  supplemented  with  a  partial  ration  of 
cottonseed  meal  the  daily  gains  and  the  financial  out- 
come were  satisfactory.  Four  deaths  occurred  as  a  re- 
sult of  the  use  of  cottonseed  meal,  hut  these  deaths  did 


296  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 


of  the  deaths  have  occurred  soon  after  the  animals  zvere 
taken  off  cottonseed  meal  and  placed  upon  a  ration 
which  contained  no  cottonseed  meal.  This  suggests  that 
cottonseed  meal  may  be  stimulating  in  its  effects — 
similar  to  the  action  of  certain  drugs — and  when  re- 
moved suddenly  from  the  animals  that  death  may  occur 
through  depression. 

Tankage,  a  packing  house  by-product,  proved  an  ex- 
ceedingly satisfactory  feed  to  supplement  corn.  In  fact, 
it  was  almost  as  satisfactory  as  cottonseed  meal,  and 
has  the  advantage  over  cottonseed  meal  in  that  there  is 
no  danger  in  feeding  it. 

When  corn  was  supplemented  with  one-half  cowpeas 
(the  seed)  the  results  were  more  satisfactory  than  when 
corn  was  used  alone,  valuing  the  cowpeas  at  80  cents 
per  bushel.  The  peas  were  used  profitably  until  they 
reached  a  price  of  $1.05  per  bushel. 

As  a  whole,  peanut  pasture  was  found  to  be  more 
useful  than  any  other  tried.  Notwithstanding  that  the 
peanut  pastures  were  not  good  two  years  out  of  the 
three,  they  still  gave  excellent  results.  Pork  was  made 
at  a  good  profit  when  peanut  pasture  was  used  with  corn. 

Mature  sorghum  pasture  has  very  little  to  recom- 
mend it  as  a  feed  lor  fattening  swine.  Both  the  gains 
and  the  financial  outcome  were  unsatisfactory. 

When  the  sorghum  was  cut  and  carried  to  the  hogs 
the  results  were  better  than  v/hen  the  hogs  were  made 
to  graze  the  crop. 


THE    PORK-MAKERS    MAIXSTAY  297 

The  expense  of  extracting'  the  juice  from  the  sorghum 
and  feeding"  the  juice  only  prohil^its  its  use  in  this  way, 
although  excellent  daily  gains  were  made.  In  no  case 
was  the  juice  found  to  be  worth  more  than  1.8  cents  a 
gallon  as  a  feed  for  hogs. 

Soy  bean  pasture  ranked  second  to  peanut  oasture  as 
a  supplement  to  corn. 

Chufa  pasture  was  not  found  to  be  as  good  as  either 
peanuts  or  soy  bean  pasture. 

The  a\erage  daily  gains  were  as  follows :  Corn  alone, 
.69  of  a  pound ;  corn  2-3  of  the  ration  with  cottonseed 
meal  1-3,  1.04  pounds;  corn  9-10  with  tankage  i-io, 
1.04  pounds;  corn  Y^.  with  cowpeas  y2,  .94  pound;  corn 
with  peanut  pasture,  i.oi  pounds;  corn  with  sorghum 
pasture,  .t^j  pound;  corn  2-3  with  cottonseed  meal  1-3 
with  peanut  pasture,  i.oo  pound;  corn  2-3  with  cotton- 
seed meal  1-3  with  sorghum  pasture,  .46  of  a  pound; 
corn  with  chufa  pasture,  .72  of  a  pound;  corn  with  soy 
])ean  pasture,  1.02  pounds;  corn  2-2,  with  cottonseed 
meal  1-3  with  soiled  (cut)  sorghum,  .75  of  a  pound. 

The  cosi  (if  one  hundred  pounds  gain  in  each  case, 
when  the  cost  of  putting  in  and  cultivating  the  pasture 
crops  was  not  taken  into  consideration,  was  as  follows  ; 
Corn  alone,  $7.63  ;  corn  2-3  with  cottonseed  meal  1-3, 
$5.75  ;  corn  9-10  with  tankage  i-io,  $5.18;  corn  ^  with 
cowpeas  3^,  $5.11;  corn  with  peanut  pasture,  $2.28; 
corn  with  sorghum  pasture.  $5.46 ;  corn  2-3  with  cotton- 
seed meal  1-3  with  peanut  pasture,  $1.97;  corn  2-3  with 
cottonseed  meal  1-3  with  sorghum  pasture,  $4.85 ;  corn 
with  chufa  pasture,  $3.81 ;  corn  with  soy  bean  pasture. 


298  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

$1.96;  corn  2-T,  and  cottonseed  meal  1-3  with  soiled  sor- 
^•luini,  $3.39. 

The  cost  of  one  hundred  pounds  gain  in  each  case, 
wiien  the  cost  of  putting  in  and  cultivating  the  pasture 
crops  was  counted  against  the  gains,  was  as  follows: 
(Jorn  alone,  $7.63  ;  corn  2-3  with  cottonseed  meal  1-3, 
$5.75;  corn  9-10  with  tankage  i-io,  $5.18;  corn  3^  with 
cowpeas  yl,  $5.11;  corn  with  peanut  pasture,  $3.20; 
corn  with  sorghum  pasture,  $11.90;  corn  2-3  with  cot- 
tonseed meal  1-3  with  peanut  pasture,  2.14;  corn  2-3 
with  cottonseed  meal  1-3  with  sorghum  pasture,  $7.79; 
corn  with  chufa  pasture,  $8.89;  corn  with  soy  bean  pas- 
ture, $2.74;  corn  2-3  with  cottonseed  meal  1-3  with 
soiled  sorghum,  $4.86. 

When  hogs  have  been  grazing  a  green  crop  it  usually 
pays  to  inclose  and  feed  them  in  a  dry  lot  for  a  short 
period  after  the  green  crop  is  exhausted. 

'i'o  secure  a  better  price  for  tlie  corn,  feed  it  in  com- 
bination with  some  other  feed. 

When  hogs  bring  from  5  to  7  cents  a  pound  live  weight 
the  farmer  cannot  afford  to  sell  his  corn  for  70  cents  a 
bushel. 

The  Missouri  station  (Bulletin  65)  finds  that  "corn 
alone,  however  prepared,  even  as  cheap  as  30  cents  per 
bushel,  is  a  very  expensive  feed  for  dry-lot  pork  produc- 
tion. .  .  .  Soaking  corn  is  much  less  expensive  than 
grinding,  and  nearly  as  valuable.  .  .  .  Summer  feed- 
ing in  Missouri  in  the  dry  lot  seems  to  require  very  much 
more  grain  per  pound  of  gain  than  is  re(|uired  in  spring 
and  fall.  The  roughage  picked  up  by  the  pig  in  pasttu'e 
is  a  very  important  part  of  the  ration." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Feeding  and  Fattening 

The  beginner  in  swine  husbandry  is  naturally  inclined 
to  demand  knowledge  of  exact  rations  and  methods  for 
his  operations,  unmindful  of  the  fact  tliat  the  man  and 
his  animals  and  the  local  facilities  or  conditions — any  one 
or  all  of  these — may  make  the  specific  application  of  a 
given  method  or  ration  entirely  unwise.  Precisely  the 
variety  and  quantity  to  feed  a  hog,  for  example,  is  a  ques- 
tion between  the  animal  and  his  feeder  and  the  best 
another  can  do  is  to  offer  suggestions  and  experiences. 
To  the  observing  and  thoughtful  these  may  be  of  great 
value;  possibly  as  much  so  in  furnishing  ideas  of  what 
not  to  do  as  in  an  affirmative  way.  The  experiences  of 
others  will  be  helpful  according  to  the  quality  of  a  man's 
own  judgment  in  their  application.  There  is  ample  tes- 
timony to  enable  him  to  decide  whether  a  certain  feed 
is  best  suited  for  growth  or  for  fattening,  but  the  most 
economical  or  profitable  ration  for  him  to  use  can  only 
he  determined  from  a  knovvledge  of  the  feeds  available 
.ind  the  current  prices  for  them.  Grain  or  other  feed  on 
hand  may  ordinarily  be  desirable,  yet  on  occasion  of 
high  prices  prevailing  for  one  commodity  it  may  be  econ- 
omy to  dispose  of  that  on  the  farm  and  purchase  for  the 
:ime  being  one  less  expensive.  Instances  might  be  mul- 
tiplied showing-  how  far  the  feeder's  judgment  and  in- 
telligence enter  into  the  attainment  of  satisfactory 
results. 

299 


300  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

PROGRESS    IN    FEEDING    KNOWLEDGE 

In  the  three  or  four  decades  ending  with  the  year 
1908  a  variety  of  new  ideas  as  to  fattening  swine  has 
come  to  be  accepted,  and  practices  strongly  approved  of 
formerly,  such  as  cooking  feed,  have  been  carefully 
tested  and  abandoned  in  the  interest  of  economy  or  for 
other  suflicient  reason,  while  new  feeds  and  new  methods 
have  won  established  places  on  their  merits  or  been  cast 
out  as  wanting.  The  main  principles  of  breeding  have 
been  established  longer,  and  changes  in  them  in  recent 
years  have  not  been  so  notable  as  in  feeding  and  fatten- 
ing. The  work  of  the  state  experiment  stations  has  been 
especially  progressive  since  1898,  when  it  was  stimulated 
by  the  publication  of  Prof.  W.  A.  Henry's  incomparable 
handbook  on  ''Feeds  and  Feeding,"  in  which  he  felt 
compelled  to  remark  that  "no  extended  work  has  yet 
been  done  in  this  country  on  the  influence  of  feeds  on 
pork,  and  for  the  present  we  must  l)e  guided  by  the 
statements  of  foreign  observers."  Since  that  time 
much  experimentation  in  swine  feeding  has  been  carried 
on  at  the  stations  in  different  states. 

No  animal  on  the  farm  is  better  adapted  to  turning 
good  feed  quickly  into  marketable  meat  than  the  hog, 
and  none  can  better  repay,  from  a  market  standpoint,  a 
discriminating  system  of  feeding.  This  is  particularly 
true  as  to  first  costs,  for  the  hog  is  by  nature  planned  to 
utilize  the  least  expensive  feeds  and  will  manufacture  into 
toothsome  pork  much  that  might  otherwise  be  reckoned 
of  little  value,  if  not  waste.  In  any  phase  of  farm 
economy  the  hog  is  a  feature,  and  his  proper  feeding 


FEEDING    AND    FATTENING  3OI 

lias  in  innumerable  instances  been  the  factor  that  kept  a 
farm's  prolit  on  the  right  side  of  the  ledger. 

CLASSES  OP  FEED 

Feeds  are  usually  classified  as  concentrated  or  bulky, 
as  they  give  a  large  or  small  quantity  of  nutriment  for 
the  bulk  supplied.  Concentrates,  as  those  of  the  former 
class  are  called,  include  the  grains  and  seeds,  mill  feeds, 
and  packing  house  and  other  by-products  which  have  the 
nutritive  material  in  more  or  less  condensed  form. 
Grasses,  fodder,  hay.  roots  and  vegetables,  which  pro- 
vide a  considerable  quantity  of  "filling"  with  a  com- 
paratively smaller  amount  of  nutriment,  are  bulky  feeds. 
Having  rather  small  stomach  capacity,  the  hog  needs 
feeds  less  coarse  than  other  animals,  especially  rumi- 
nants, like  the  cow.  which  require  increased  bulk  to  in- 
sure a  complete  digestion ;  at  the  same  time,  the  hog  is  an 
omniverous  creature  and  craves  a  variety,  and  this 
variety  is  most  easily  and  healthfully  supplied  by  the 
more  or  less  bulky  products.  Digestion  of  concentrated 
feeds  is  less  difficult  when  considerable  coarse  material 
is  used  with  them. 

The  principal  constituents  of  feeds  are  chemically 
known  as  ])rotcids,  or  nitrogenous  compounds,  which  are 
utilized  mainly  to  make  up  tlie  muscular  tissues  (hence 
are  of  impt^rtance  wlicn  growtli  is  needed"),  and  carbo- 
naceous matter,  as  starches  and  sugars  (carbohydrates) 
and  fats  (hydrocarbons),  which  are  utilized  in  making 
fat  and  energy.  Water  content  and  ash  are  feed  factors 
-.vhich  should  have  consideration.  Water  is  indispen- 
sable for  anv  animal's  bodv.  but  if  more  than  the  normal 


302 


SWINE   IN    AMERICA 


quantity  is  taken  it  may  be  harmful  rather  than  bene- 
iicial.  Ash  or  mineral  matter  is  a  relatively  small  con- 
stituent of  the  body,  except  in  the  bony  structure,  but  is 
none  tlie  less  important. 

COMPOSITION  OP  BODIES 

Some  knowledge  of  the  composition  of  the  bodies  of 
hogs  is  of  value  to  the  feeder  in  aiding  him  to  judge  of 
characteristic  food  requirements.  The  most  extended 
research  on  this  line  was  made  by  Lawes  and  Gilbert  at 
the  Rothamsted  (England)  experiment  station.  The  re- 
sults of  the  analyses  were  published  in  1859,  and  among 
the  determinations  as  to  the  composition  of  animals 
were  included  those  of  the  collective  carcass  parts,  col- 
lective offal  parts  and  the  entire  bodies  of  a  "store" 
(lean)  pig-  and  a  fat  pig,  which  follow: 

TABLE  SHOWING  PERCENTAGE  COMPOSITION  OF  CARCASS, 
OFFAL  AND  ENTIRE  BODY  OF  STORE  (LEAN)  PIG  AND 
FAT  PIG 


Description 
animal. 

Mineral 

matter 

(ash). 

Nitroge- 
nous sub- 
stance. 

Fat. 

Total 
dry 
sub- 
stance. 

Water. 

Contents 
of  stom- 
ach and 
intestines 
in  moist 
state. 

I.     Per  cent  in  carcass. 

Store  pig 

Fat  pig 

2.57 
1.40 

14.0 
10.5 

28.1 
49.5 

44.7 
61.4 

55.3 
38.6 

H.     Perce 

nt  in  offal  (excluding  contents  of  stomach  and  intes 

ines). 

Store  pig 

Fat  pig 

3.0, 

2.97 

14.0 
14.8 

15.0 
22.8 

32.1 
40.6 

67.9 

59.4 

III. 

Per  cent  in  the  entire  animal  (fasted  live  weifrht). 

Store  pig 

2.67 
1.6S 

13.7 
10.9 

23.3 
42.2 

39.7 
54.7 

55.  1 
41.3 

5.22 

3.97 

FEEDING    AXD    FATTENING 


303 


The  Iowa  experiment  station  conducted,  in  1897. 
feeding-  experiments  from  birth  with  cHtferent  lots  of 
Berkshire,  Tamworth,  Chester  \\'hite,  Poland-China, 
Duroc-Jersey  and  Yorkshire  pigs,  which  were  slaughtered 
in  tlie  Chicago  packing  house  of  Swift  &  CfMupany. 
Eight  carcasses,  representing  as  many  lots,  were  shipped 
to  Washington  for  investigation  as  to  chemical  composi- 
tion In-  the  Di\-ision  of  Ciiemistrv  of  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture.  'I'lie  blood,  hair,  entrails, 
heads,  kidneys  and  kidney  fats  were  not  shipped,  but  the 
analyses  represented  practically  the  composition  of  the 
hog  as  put  in"o  commerce  for  food.  The  data  obtained 
are  given  in  the  following  table,  in  which  Xo.  5  was  a 
Duroc-Jersey  from  a  lot  fed  on  a  narrow  ration,  and  No. 
(1  was  from  a  lot  fed  on  a  wide  ration: 


AN.\LYTICAL  DATA.   EXPRESSED  IN    PERCENTAGES,   OF  THE 
ENTIRE    DRESSED    ANIMAL.    THE     HEAD,     LEAF    LARD 
AND  KIDNEYS   HAVING  BEEN   REMOVED 


Number 

and  breed 

of  pig. 

Weight 

in 
pounds. 

Water. 

Fat. 

Nitroge- 
nous s\ib- 
stances. 

Leci- 
thin. 

Ash. 

Total. 

1.   Berkshire 

2    Tamworth      

129i 

141 

12Ss 

146s 

1375 

167,«a 

149J 

160^« 

43.10 
41.09 
35.80 
37.83 
32.32 
30.31 
30.58 
40.39 

40.46 
42.97 
51.11 
48.90 
55.07 
56.81 
57.68 
44.35 

13.02 
11.99 
9.85 
9.66 
8.99 
9.80 
8.96 
11.44 

0.27 
0.17 
0.17 
0.19 
0.11 
0.19 
0.42 
0.31 

2.57 
2.63 
1.84 
1.83 
2.01 
1.75 
1.81 
2.40 

99.42 
98  85 

3.  Cliester  White 

4.  Poland-China 

5.  Duroc-Jersey 

(..   Duroc-Jersey 

7.  Duroc-Jersey 

8.  Yorkshire 

98.77 
98.41 
98.50 
98.86 
99.45 
98.89 

Means 

144S 

lilt 

36.43 
43.10 
30.31 

49.67 
57.68 
40.46 

10.46 
13.02 
8.96 

0.23 
0.42 
0.11 

2.11 
2.63 
1.81 

98  90 

Maxima 

Minima 

99.45 
98.41 

The  methods  and  results  of  the  foregoing  experiment 
are  detailed  fully  in  Bulletin  No.  48.  page  381,  of  the 
Iowa  experiment  station,  and  in  "Chemical  Composition 


304  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

of  the  Carcasses  of  Pigs,"  Bulletin  Xo.  53  of  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Division  of  Chem- 
istry. 

CHARACTER  OP  FEED  NEEDED 

The  constituents  most  desirahle  in  feed  for  swine  de- 
pend greatly  upon  the  use  to  which  the  animal  is  to  put 
them.  A  newly  born  pig's  body  is  largely  water,  and  to 
grow  he  must  have  food  that  will  produce  tissue.  That 
is  why  the  milk,  primarily  designed  to  furnish  proper 
nourishment  for  growing  animals,  needs  to  be,  as  it  is,  so 
rich  in  nitrogenous  substance.  Later,  when  the  time 
comes  that  he  is  intended  for  quick-fattening,  he  should, 
naturally,  be  supplied  with  feed  containing  much  fat 
making  material,  and  it  is  that  quality  which  has  given 
corn  its  high  place  in  finishing  hogs  for  slaughter.  It  is 
readily  seen,  therefore,  that  different  kinds  of  feed  will 
be  needed  to  furnish  the  most  beneficial  results,  accord- 
ing to  the  stage  of  growth  of  the  animal,  the  energy  re- 
quired for  its  maintenance,  and  the  end  to  which  the  ani- 
mal is  destined ;  yet  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  a 
ration  should  be  one-sided  or  be  dominated  by  one  ele- 
ment to  the  exclusion  of  a  variety.  Losing  sight  of  this 
is  a  mistake  that  has  been  made  more  frequently  in  the 
use  of  corn  than  any  other  feed ;  not  so  much,  perhaps, 
because  it  is  rich  in  carbonaceous  matter,  as  by  reason  of 
its  convenience  and  cheapness  in  the  regions  where  it 
flourishes. 

METHODS  OF  HANDLING  FEED 

To  specially  prepare  feed  it  may  be  soaked,  ground  or 
cooked.     As  a  general  practice  cooking  feed  for  swine 


FEEDING    AND    FATTENING  305 

does  not  pay  for  the  additional  time,  labor  and  expense 
involved,  and  in  fattening  swine  for  market  it  is  no 
longer    regarded    as    worth    while.      Henry    reports    in 


feed  showed  a  loss  of  6  per  cent  in  the  feeding  value 
because  of  cooking.     On  this  subject  he  says,  however : 

''A  few  feeds-  appear  to  require  the  modifying  influ- 
ence of  heat  and  moisture  to  render  them  palatable  and 
digestible  for  stock.  Potatoes  cannot  be  successfully 
ted  to  swine  in  any  quantity  unless  they  are  first  cooked, 
and  roots  are  more  palatable  if  cooked  and  meal  is  added 
to  the  mass.  Feeders  should  not  confuse  the  effects  of 
cooked  feeds  upon  farm  stock  with  the  advantages  of 
supplying  them  with  warm  feed  in  palatable  form.  To 
the  assertion  that  stockmen  who  cook  feed  have  the 
finest  animals,  the  writer  ventures  the  opinion  that  one 
who  is  willing  to  cook  feed  will  usually  give  his  animals 
many  attentions  wliich  feeders  generally  pass  by  as  not 
worthy  their  time  or  notice.  It  is  this  extra  care  and 
the  larger  variety  of  feeds  usually  supplied  rather  than 
tile  cooking  which  make  animals  of  superior  quality.  For 
tiie  purpose  of  affording  variety,  the  various  grains, 
roots  and  tubers,  togetlier  witli  clover  or  alfalfa  chafi^, 
may  be  boiled  or  steamed  fi)r  pigs  and  used  as  part  of 
the  ration." 

Proper  consideration  for  a  sick  hog  may  occasionally 
call  for  the  cooking  of  feed,  and  where  expense  is  not 
an  object,  as  in  fitting  show  animals  or  in  bringing  up 
the  condition  of  breeding  stock,  cooked  feed  may  be 
preferred. 


306  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

GROUND  FEED 

The  advisability  of  grinding  feed  is  more  or  less  de- 
pendent on  prices  prevailing  for  it,  unless  the  expense  of 
grinding  is  slight  or  may  be  entirely  disregarded.  If 
the  whole  feed  is  high  in  the  open  market  and  the  feed- 
er's cost  of  grinding  is  low  he  may  effect  enough  of  a 
saving  to  make  grinding  profitable.  There  is  undeni- 
ably some  loss  through  the  excrement  when  whole  grain 
is  fed.  more  with  oats  or  barley  than  with  corn,  but  Ca- 
nadian records  (Central  Experimental  Farm  Bulletin  No. 
^^)  show  that  the  cjuantity  is  not  excessive.  In  case  the 
corn  is  flinty  and  unusually  hard  and  it  is  intended  for 
young  swine,  grinding  may  prevent  sore  mouths,  and 
should  aid  growth. 

Most  of  the  records  which  have  been  kept  relating  to 
the  grinding  of  feed  have  concerned  the  grinding  of 
corn,  and  the  results  ha\e  been  varying  and  not  decisive. 
The  most  extended  investigations  have  been  made  at  the 
AVisconsin  station,  and  are  summarized  in  the  Nineteenth 
Annual  Report  of  that  station  (page  lo)  ;  these  showed 
losses  in  some  instances  and  gains  in  other  trials  through 
grinding  the  corn.  Advantages  from  the  feeding  of 
ground  corn  for  fattening  are  problematical  and  de- 
pendent on  local  conditions. 

More  can  be  said  in  favor  of  grinding  peas,  soy  beans. 
Kafir-corn,  millet  seed  and  the  various  small  grains. 
Records  kept  at  the  Canadian  Central  experimental  farm 
showed  a  little  gain  in  weight  from  feeding  peas  ground, 
but  there  was  a  saving  of  17  per  cent  in  quantity.  Ex- 
periments with  small  grains  shcnv  an  advantage  from 
grinding,  by  reason  of  the  amount  saved  in  digestion. 


FEEDING    AND    FATTEN IXG 


307 


WET  AXI>  DRY  FEED 

Corn  meal  and  other  grountl  foods  are  more  palatable 
and  ijetter  relished  if  fed  wet.  Whole  grain  is  more 
generally  soaked  than  is  ground  grain.  The  experi- 
ments made  at  the  different  stations  in  feeding  swine 
with  wet  and  dry  feed  are  summarized  by  George  M. 
Rommel,  however,  in  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture  bulletin  on  "The  Hog  Industry"  as  showing 
an  advantage  of  but  little  more  than  2  per  cent  in  favor 
of  soaking.  So  far  as  tests  made  by  experiment  stations 
and  their  more  or  less  contradictory  results  are  indica- 
ti\-e.  either  wetting  or  soaking  whole  or  ground  grain  is 
of  less  importance  than  popularly  supposed.  The  author, 
nc\ertheless.  is  of  the  opinion  that  in  many  instances, 
soaking  grain,  especially  old  corn  that  has  become  very 
dry  and  hard,  for  swine  can  be  done  ad\antageously. 

LIMIT  OF   FEEDING  CAPACITY 

\n  his  own  way  the  h(\g  has  unexcelled  ability  to 
manufacture  the  right  sort  of  feed  into  marketable 
product,  but  the  good  feeder  will  learn  his  limitations  as 
well  as  his  abilities.  No  animal  can  add  to  its  frame  or 
flesh  an  ounce  more  than  its  natural  or  inherited  ca- 
pacity will  permit,  yet  this  natural  capacity  may  l)e  modi- 
fied throug-h  generations  of  feeding.  The  laws  therein 
inxolved  have  been  amply  demonstrated  in  experimental 
work,  which  has  shown  particularly  important  results  in 
regard  to  the  wrong  nurturing  of  pigs.  Some  of  the 
decisive  investigations  are  fully  reported  in  W.  A. 
1  fenry's  "Feeds  and  l-'eeding."  where,  in  discussing  them, 
its  author  says :     "These  experiments  were  conducted  at 


308  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

sc\eral  stations  in  widely  separated  states  and  countries 
and  with  different  feeds,  yet  the  results  were  concordant 
in  showing  that  the  frame  of  the  growing  animal  and 
the  vital  organs  can  be  greatly  modified  by  improper 
nutrition — the  muscles  produced  by  such  feeding  being 
less  than  normal  in  size,  the  bones  robbed  of  their 
strength,  tlie  vital  organs,  such  as  the  liver  and  kidneys, 
modified,  and  even  the  blood  reduced  in  quantity.  The 
observant  feeder  and  breeder  of  swine  studying  these 
trials  must  be  impressed  witli  the  plastic  character  of  the 
body  of  the  growing  animal.  He  learns  that  the  bones 
and  muscles  as  well  as  some  of  the  internal  organs  of 
the  body  can  be  thrown  out  of  their  normal  relations 
one  to  another  through  an  unbalanced  or  improper  food 
supply.  He  sees  it  possible  for  immature  animals  to  live 
a  long  time  without  showing  disease,  while  being 
dwarfed  in  form  and  made  prematurely  fat.  He  learns 
that  nature's  plan  is  to  grow  the  framework  first  and 
lay  on  fat  afterwards.  He  understands  that,  while  no 
farmer  would  feed  his  pigs  as  these  were  fed,  wrong 
feeding  may,  nevertheless,  be  practiced  by  many.  He 
concludes,  rightly,  that  if  a  pig  or  other  young  animal 
is  malnurtured  so  as  to  modify  its  bones,  muscle  and 
vital  organs  ever  so  little,  and  the  animal  so  atTected  is 
later  used  for  breeding  purposes,  the  descendants  like- 
wise being  malnurtured,  the  cumulative  ill  effects  may 
in  a  few  generations  become  very  marked." 

Experiments  conducted  at  the  Utah  station  (Bulletin 
No.  70)  demonstrated  that  the  practice  of  scantily  feed- 
ing pigs  through  one  period  of  their  growth  and  depend- 
ing upon  heavy  feeding  to  finish  the  preparation  for 


A    Well-Fatted  Essex 


An  Attractive  Essex  Gilt 


FEEDING    Ai\U    lATTENIxXG  309 

market  was  distinctly  unprofitable.  Halts  and  setbacks 
in  the  steady  progress  of  a  pig's  career  will  detract  from 
the  profit  he  may  ])g  expected  to  yield.  This  emphasizes 
the  importance  of  jjroviding  the  right  kind  of  supple- 
mentary feeds 

SUPPLEMENTARY   FEEDS 

Many  feeds  taken  in  connection  with  others  are  of 
greater  importance  than  on  their  single  merits.  Corn 
feeding  demands  supplementary  feed  in  order  to  bring 
down  to  the  proper  degree  the  excess  of  its  peculiar 
qualities.  Swine  on  pasture  alone  receive  too  much  bulk 
and  not  enough  direct  nutriment,  which  needs  to  be 
supplied  by  supplemental  concentrated  feeds,  if  they  are 
expected  to  fatten.  These  also  furnish  the  variety  re- 
quired by  an  omniverous  animal.  "The  hog,"  says 
Henry  Wallace,  "is  built  more  like  a  man,  or  the  man 
more  like  a  hog  (we  do  not  care  how  you  put  it),  than 
any  other  animal  on  the  farm;  therefore,  he  needs 
^'ariet3^  No  man  wants  to  live  on  an  exclusive  diet  of 
fried  mush,  or  roasting  ears,  or  apple  dumplings,  or 
turkey  and  cranberry  sauce  meal  after  meal  and  day 
after  day.     He  needs  variety,  and  so  does  the  hog." 

In  finishing  a  fattening  hog  somewhat  close  confine- 
ment generally  afl^ords  the  best  results,  and  in  that  case, 
again,  supplemental  feeds  are  of  importance  for  the 
variety  they  will  give. 

Satisfactory  supplemental  feeds  are  usually  available 
on  the  farm,  and  ordinarily  are  not  expensive  parts  of 
the  ration.  71iese,  and  the  substitute  feeds  which  must 
be  considered  in  time  of  drought  or  at  other  times  when 


310 


SWINE   IN    AMERICA 


the  main   feeds  are  not  easily  available,  are  treated  at 
greater  length  in  other  chapters  of  this  volume. 

RESULTS  IN  FEEDING 

Study  and  comparison  of  the  weights  of  pigs  at  va- 
rious ages,  and  the  quantity  of  feed  consumed  and  gains 
made  under  ordinary  conditions,  are  of  no  value  to  the 
feeder.  Averages  of  this  character  have  been  carefully 
made  up  by  Professor  Henry  from  his  experiments  at 
the  Wisconsin  station  and  from  records  reported  from 
many  trials  at  other  state  stations.  He  gives  the  fol- 
lowing table  regarding  the  average  birth  weight  and 
weekly  gains  made  by  pigs  before  and  after  weaning: 

WEIGHTS   AND    GAINS   MADE   BY    PIGS^    BEFORE   AND   AFTER 

WEANING,    WISCONSIN    STATION 


before  weaning,  10  weeks,  average 
of  12  litters,  86  pigs. 


Avera'^e 

Week 

weight. 

Pounds. 

At  birth 

2.5 

1  week 

4.4 

2  weeks 

7.0 

3  weeks 

9.8 

12.5 

5  weeks 

15.6 

6  weeks 

18.6 

7  weeks 

22.6 

8  weeks 

27.8 

9  weeks 

33.1 

10  weeks 

38.5 

Gain. 
Pounds. 


1.9 
2.6 
2.8 
2.7 
3.1 
3.0 
4.0 
5.2 
5.3 
5.4 


After  weaning,  7  weeks,  average 
of  8  litters,  62  pigs. 


10th  week, 
nth  week. 
12th  week. 
13th  week. 
14th  week. 
15th  week. 
16th  week. 
17th  week. 


Average    | 
weight.  Gain. 

Pounds.     I   Pounds 


41.5 
46.7 
52.0 
58.3 
64.2 
69.8 
76.5 
84.1 


5.2 
5.3 
6.3 
5.9 
5.6 
6.7 
7.6 


In  commenting  on  these  averages,  Professor  Henry 
said :  "The  heaviest  pig  in  these  litters  weighed  3.6 
pounds  at  birth  and  tlic  lightest  1.6  pounds,  the  average 


rEi:ui.\G  Ai\i 


•ATTlilSlNG 


11 


for  the  lot  being  2.5  pounds.  During-  the  first  week  after 
birth  the  pigs  made  a  gain  of  1.9  pounds.  Overlooking 
irregularities,  we  may  say  that  the  pigs  made  a  weekly 
gain  of  three  pounds  per  head  the  fifth  week  after  birth, 
four  pounds  the  seventh  week,  and  five  and  one-half 
l)ounds  the  tenth  week.  At  the  end  of  the  seventh  week 
after  weaning,  when  119  days  old,  they  were  gaining 
more  than  seven  pounds  each  w-eekly,  or  over  a  pound 
a  day." 

Professor  Henry  also  collected  the  records  of  all 
the  American  experiment  stations  relati\e  to  weights 
and  gains  of  pigs  and  the  feed  consumed  so  far  as  pub- 
lished prior  to  the  compilation  of  his  book  in  1897,  em- 
bodying in  that  work  practically  all  the  data  recorded 
in  America  up  to  that  time  on  the  subjects  comprehended, 
and  as  summarized  in  the  following  table : 


WEIGHT,     FEED     CONSUMED     AND     GAINS     MADE     BY     PIGS 
DATA    FROM    MANY   AMERICAN   EXPERIMENTS 


Num- 

Total 

Weight 

Actual 

ber 
of  sta- 

Total 
Num- 

Num- 
ber of 

Average 
feed 

Feed 
eaten  per 

Average 
gain 

Feed 
for  100 

of  pigs 

average 

tions 

ber 

ani- 

eaten 

100  lbs. 

di^;. 

pounds 

in  pounds. 

weight. 

report- 
ing. 

of 
trials. 

mals 
fed. 

ffr. 

live 
weight. 

gain. 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Pounds 

IS  to    50. 

38 

9 

41 

174 

2.23 

5. 95 

.76 

293 

SO  to  100. 

78 

13 

100 

417 

3.35 

4.32 

.83 

400 

100  to  ISO. 

128 

13 

119 

495 

4.79 

3.75 

1.10 

437 

ISO  to  200. 

174 

107 

489 

5.91 

3.43 

1.24 

482 

200  to  2 SO. 

226 

12 

72 

300 

6.57 

2.91 

1.33 

498 

2S0  to  300. 

271 

8 

46 

223 

7.40 

2.74 

1.46 

511 

300  to  3 SO. 

320 

3 

19 

105 

7.50 

2.35 

1.40 

535 

350  to  400. 

378 

S 

36 

8.52 

2.25 

1.98 

431 

400  to  4  50. 

429 

1 

5 

36 

8.18 

1.91 

1.71 

479 

450  to  500. 

471 

1 

2 

18 

10.00 

2.12 

1    77 

562 

312  SWINE   li\    AMERICA 

CONSUMPTION  OP  WATER 

Data  obtained  in  an  experiment  by  the  Indiana  experi- 
ment station  in  1900  were  utilized  by  Rommel  in  com- 
piling a  table  to  show  the  daily  consumption  of  water  at 
various  weights.  Different  lots  of  pigs  were  respectively 
fed  rations  with  food  dry  in  the  trough  and  with  the 
grain  mixed  with  equal  weight  and  twice  and  three  times 
its  weight  of  water,  and  all  the  additional  water  desired 
was  supplied.  There  were  four  pigs  in  each  lot.  The 
table  on  page  313  shows  the  results. 

Commenting  on  this  table,  Mr.  Rommel  says :  "These 
figures  show  little  difference  in  the  consumption  of  water 
when  feed  was  given  dry  and  when  mixed  with  an  equal 
weight  of  water.  The  increase  of  the  consumption  of 
water  with  age  is  g"radual,  but  not  regular.  The  pigs 
that  were  forced  to  drink  large  quantities  of  water  to  get 
cnoug'h  feed  to  satisfy  hunger  evidently  drank  more 
than  they  needed,  if  the  figures  of  the  dry  grain  lot  are 
a  criterion." 

CONFINEMENT    AND    INCLOSURES 

The  area  that  fattening  swine  should  have  may  be 
stated  in  general  terms  as  any  space  sufficient  to  afford 
a  reasonable  number  comfort,  cleanliness,  and  the  req- 
uisite degree  of  exercise;  while  any  inclosure  is  too  small 
that  compels  any  hog  or  hogs  to  be  filthy  and  uncom- 
fortable. If  a  considerable  number  are  to  be  fattened, 
and  the  large,  medium  and  small  hogs  can  be  fed  by 
themselves,  in  different  pens  or  lots  according  to  size, 
and  if  not  more  than  15,  20  or  25  are  kept  together,  they 
will  be  more  peaceable,  feed  better,  gain  faster  and  be 


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314  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

Iiealthier  than  if   huddled   together  indiscriminately   to 
spend  their  time  in  disturbance  and  turmoil. 

Except  with  special  facilities  and  resources  experience 
has  placed  the  maximum  number  for  an  average  farm, 
under  present  conditions,  at  from  75  to  125  hogs.  For 
the  average  farmer  more  than  this  number  is  more  or 
less  a  venture  into  the  field  of  speculation.  Many  farm- 
ers can,  and  do,  raise  more,  but  in  such  cases  the  practices 
and  methods  are  very  far  above  the  average.  "We  have 
been  raising  hogs  for  25  years,"  said  Henry  Wallace  in 
1906,  "and  have  found  our  maximum  of  profit  with 
from  60  to  100  on  the  farm.  Sometimes  we  have  grown 
from  135  to  150,  and  invariably  found  that,  while  con- 
suming more  corn  and  giving  us  more  trouble,  they  gave 
us  no  more  profit  that  if  we  raised  from  75  to  100. 
Wlien  prices  are  high  farmers  are  tempted  to  go  beyond 
this  number,  and  if  they  do  not  in\-ite  the  disease  known 
as  'cholera,'  our  observations  are  that  something  else 
comes  in  and  robs  them  of  their  profit."  With  the  best 
management  it  is  found  that  not  more  than  40  head 
should  be  confined  to  less  than  an  acre  of  ground. 

IMPORTANT  FEATURES 

Whatever  the  number  of  animals  to  be  fattened,  or 
the  season  of  the  year,  it  is  important  that  the  inclosure 
in  which  they  are  kept  and  fed  should  have  good  surface 
drainage.  If  possible  to  secure  it  without  danger  of 
bringing  down  disease  germs  from  other  premises,  there 
should  be  running  water  obtainable  in  such  a  way  that 
the  feed  lots  may  not  become  miry,  and  without  necessity 


FEEDING    AND    FATTENING  3I5 

for  any  of  the  animals  drinking  from  filthy  sloughs  or 
mndholes.  If  kept  in  dry  lots  or  fed  in  pens  the  hogs 
should  have,  at  least  twice  a  day.  as  much  clean  water 
as  they  will  drink,  and  as  the  foregoing  recorded  exper- 
iment of  the  Indiana  station  and  the  experience  of  prac- 
tical men  amply  show,  this  is  no  inconsiderable  quantity. 
In  dry  lots  or  in  pens  plenty  of  trough  room  should  be 
provided.  WMiatever  the  feed  may  be,  it  should  be  given 
in  such  a  manner  that  the  hogs  will  be  forced  to  eat  as 
little  filth  as  possible.  When  animals,  to  get  their  feed, 
must  swallow  as  much  mud  and  manure  as  grain  only 
indifferent  results  may  be  expected.  It  is  too  frequently 
the  practice  to  confine  and  feed  50  or  more  hogs  on  much 
less  than  an  acre,  where  they  are  compelled  to  eat.  drink 
and  sleep  in  their  own  filth ;  and  after  some  months  of 
this  treatment  surprise,  entirely  unjustifiable,  is  expressed 
because  they  are  carried  off  by  that  ever-convenient 
s.capegoat,  "cholera,"  or  in  some  oth.er  manner  inevitably 
become  a  fair  quality  of  carrion. 

CHANGES  IN  FEEDING 

Any  change  during  the  feeding  season  should  be  from 
light  to  heavier  and  better  fattening  feed  and  never  the 
reverse.  The  best  gains  are  those  which  are  steadily 
made,  up  to  the  end  of  the  fattening  period.  When,  by 
gradually  increasing-  the  quantity  of  fattening  food,  the 
lK)gs  have  become  accustomed  to  it,  they  should  be 
given  at  regular  hours,  early  in  the  morning,  at  noon, 
and  late  in  the  evening,  as  much  corn  as  they  will  eat  up 
clean,   ])ut   no  more.      This   caution   is   applical)le  to   all 


3l6  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

other  feeds  as  well  as  corn,  although  comparatively  few 
hogs  are  fattened  in  the  corn-growing  regions  except 
upon  ear  corn,  and  undoubtedly  the  time  is  far  off  when 
the  case  will  be  otherwise.  All  changes  in  character  of 
feed  should  be  rather  gradual,  and  especially  is  this  true 
when  hogs  are  taken  from  grass  or  other  bulky  diet  to 
be  fattened  on  a  more  concentrated  feed.  Too  sudden 
a  change  is  sometimes  attended  with  injurious  effects,  if 
not  the  loss  of  animals  outright. 

Regularity  as  to  times  of  feeding  and  quality  and 
quantity  of  feed  should  be  observed;  no  animal  should 
be  fed  so  much  as  to  be  surfeited,  and  only  so  much  feed 
should  be  given  at  once  as  will  be  entirely  consumed,  that 
all  may  come  to  the  next  meal  with  sharp  appetites.  The 
most  perfect  development  does  not  depend  so  much  upon 
the  large  quantity  they  can  be  made  to  consume  as  upon 
the  quantity  they  properly  digest  and  assimilate.  Next 
to  good  food  for  the  appetite  a  good  appetite  for  the 
food  is  desirable,  and  should  be  carefully  promoted ;  the 
hog  that  refuses  to  eat,  even  for  a  single  day,  is  set  back 
in  his  fattening  for  two  or  three  days,  and  sometimes 
much  longer.  The  failure  of  a  hog's  appetite  at  any 
time  denotes  something  seriously  wrong  with  him  and  his 
surroundings,  if  not  with  the  entire  herd  and  its  man- 
agement. 

The  quantity  of  feed  will  vary  somewhat,  and  usually 
in  frosty  and  freezing  weather  more  will  be  eaten  to 
maintain  the  animal  heat  than  when  the  temperature  is 
higher  and  the  atmosphere  contains  considerable  mois- 
ture.     Good  feeding  consists  in  giving  every  particle  the 


FEEDING    AND    FATTENING  317 

hogs  will  eat,  without  leaving  any,  or  cloying  their  ap- 
petites, and  to  maintain  this  intelligent  care  and  close 
observation  are  necessary.  The  old  saying  that  the  lazy 
farmer  who  sits  on  the  fence,  watching  his  hogs  until 
tliey  are  through  eating,  generally  markets  the  heaviest 
pork  is  in  exemplification  of  the  rules  of  proper  care  in 
feeding.  Quiet  and  comfort  are  indispensable  to  thrift, 
so  dogs  and  boisterous  boys  sliould  be  kept  away  from 
the  lots  and  pens. 

What  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  chapter  regarding 
the  effect  of  warmth  and  shelter  on  the  quantity  of  feed 
required  by  growing  pigs  applies  with  as  much  force  to 
fattening  hogs.  Comfortable,  sheltered  beds,  not  too 
deep  and  dusty,  are  equivalent  to  a  considerable  amount 
of  feed,  as  stock  suffering  from  cold  cannot  thrive,  and 
to  warm  them  with  grain,  applied  internally,  is  much 
more  expensive  than  good  nests  and  shelter,  applied  ex- 
ternally. From  an  experiment  made  at  the  Kansas  agri- 
cultural college  in  1882- 1883,  in  which  one  lot  was 
placed  in  the  basement  of  a  barn  and  another  lot  was 
kept  in  an  open  yard  with  a  board  fence  on  the  north 
as  the  only  protection,  it  was  found  that  the  pigs  in  the 
unsheltered  lot  required  25  per  cent  more  corn  to  make 
100  pounds  of  gain  than  those  which  were  sheltered. 
The  test  was  with  pure-bred  hogs,  weigliing  200  to  250 
pounds  each,  and  was  carried  on  for  ten  weeks,  begin- 
ning November  27,  through  weather  ranging  in  tempera- 
ture from  12°  below  to  31°  above  zero*  out-of-doors. 

Many  farmers  find  it  convenient  to  accustom  their 
hogs  to  some  particular  feeding  call  which  will  bring 
them  together,  and  sometimes  they  can  be  called  thus 


3l8  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

into   places    where   it    would    be   extremely   difficult   to 
drive  them. 

In  the  corn  growing  sections  autumn,  with  its  mild 
weather,  is  the  profitable  season  for  making  pork  and 
lard,  and  shotes  not  intended  to  follow  cattle  fattening 
on  grain,  later  in  the  season,  should  be  far  along  in  their 
maturity  before  severe  winter  weather  sets  in.  When 
hogs  approach  a  degree  of  fatness  in  which  they  find  it 
difficult  to  get  up  and  move  about  readily  they  will  be 
fed  longer  at  a  loss,  and  the  packer  or  the  pork  barrel 
should  take  them  in. 

INCREASE   IN  FEED  REQUIRED 

In  experiments  by  Prof.  G.  E.  Day  at  the  Ontario 
agricultural  college  it  was  clearly  shown,  as  has  been 
done  elsewhere,  that  the  quantity  of  feed  consumed  or 
required  per  loo  pounds  of  gain  increases  rapidly  with 
the  weight  of  the  hogs.  His  observations  were  made  on 
36  different  animals,  with  this  showing: 

Increasing  in  live  weight  from  54  to  82  pounds,  pigs 
required  3.10  pounds  of  meal  per  pound  of  gain. 

Increasing  from  82  to  115  pounds,  shotes  required 
3.75  pounds  of  meal  per  pound  of  gain. 

Increasing  from  115  to  148  pounds,  hogs  required 
4.38  pounds  of  meal  per  pound  of  gain. 

Increasing  from  148  to  170  pounds,  hogs  required 
4.55  pounds  of  meal  per  pound  of  gain. 

Professor  Henry  gives  data  along  the  same  line,  com- 
piled from  many  experiments,  especially  valuable  by 
reason  of  the  large  number  of  animals  reported  on.     The 


FEEDING    AND    FATTENING 


319 


food  consiiinetl  is  valued  at  $1  per  100  pounds.     This  is 
Henry's  table: 


FEED    AND     GAIN     OF    SWINE    AT    DIFFERENT     STAGES     OF 
GROWTH 


Weight  of 

animals  in 

pounds. 

ii 

II 

It 

II 

1 

Jl 

ll 
^1 

'6 

c 

eg 

Ii 

g.s 

ll 

g'l 

Jl 

IS  to  SO 

SO  to  100 

100  to  150 

ISO  tu  200 

200  to  2S0 

2S0  to  300 

300  to  3S0 

38 
78 
128 
174 
226 
271 
320 

q 

13 
13 

u 

3 

41 
100 
119 
107 
72 
46 
19 

495 
489 
300 
223 
105 

2.23 
3.35 
4.79 
5.91 
6.57 
7.40 
7.50 

S.9S 
4.32 
3. 75 
3.43 
2.91 
2.74 
2.35 

.76 
.83 
1.10 
1.24 
1.33 
1.46 
1.40 

293 
400 
437 
482 
498 
511 
535 

$2.93 
4.00 
4.37 

4.82 
4.98 
5.11 
5.35 

SOME   CASKS  OF   LONG   PASTING 

The  ability  of  a  hog  to  fast,  or  to  live  upon  himself, 
in  close,  solitary  confinement  for  long  periods  is  really 
very  remarkable,  and  although  not  understood  gen- 
erally, has  frequent  and  striking  illustrations.  .V  few 
such  that  have  been  fully  authenticated  are  as  follows : 

Wm.  McBride  of  Randolph  county,  Illinois,  July  15th, 
missed  one  of  his  fattening  hogs  weig'hing  about  225 
pounds.  Alore  tlian  100  days  afterwards  it  was  found 
in  a  sink  Iiole  into  which  it  had  fallen.  It  weighed  about 
50  pounds  and  was  \er}-  weak,  but  soon  recovered  its 
normal  strength  and  weiglit. 

A  farmer  of  Polk  county.  Minnesota,  missed  a  val- 
uable pig  which  three  months  later  he  found  under  the 
center  of  his  straw  stack.  The  ])ig  "was  too  weak  to 
grunt,  but  alive:  a  few  days'  feeding  restored  him  and 


320  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

now  he  is  as  fat  and  handsome  as  any  of  his  breed, 
showing  no  signs  of  his  long  fast." 

Adam  C.  Camper  of  Princess  Anne  county,  Virginia, 
had  a  300-pound  sow  that  became  wedged  between  two 
straw  ricks.  "She  was  without  food  or  water  four 
months,  and  lost  but  10  pounds." 

Charles  Peter  of  Riley  county,  Kansas,  owned  a  shote 
that  was  imprisoned  in  a  crevice  between  two  hay  stacks 
43  days  and  emerged  emaciated  and  weak,  but  healthy, 
when  the  hay  was  removed. 

A  fat  shote  weighing  125  pounds  belonging  to  Arthur 
T.  Gladhill,  of  Smith  county,  Kansas,  fell  to  the  bottom 
of  a  dry  well  fourteen  feet  deep,  where  it  remained  for 
seven  or  possibly  eight  weeks.  When  found  and  taken 
out  it  was  very  weak,  but  could  walk  fairly  well.  It  was 
estimated  to  weigh  at  that  time  between  50  and  60 
pounds,  and  "its  body  resembled  that  of  a  greyhound 
more  than  that  of  a  hog."  Later  it  made  a  satisfactory 
growth. 

A  farmer  of  Doniphan  county,  Kansas,  owned  a  fat 
hog  of  about  375  pounds  weight  which  was  accidentally 
covered  on  November  nth  by  the  straw  from  a  thresh- 
ing machine.  January  29th,  or  79  days  later,  the  hog 
was  found  near  the  stack  trying  to  walk,  "which  it  did 
after  a  little  practice."     It  weighed  150  pounds  or  less. 

A  sow  nearly  ready  to  farrow  belonging  to  James 
Laird,  of  Rickling,  Essex,  England,  was  accidentally 
covered  up  under  a  stack  of  barley  straw,  and  remained 
there  for  133  days.  "A  more  emaciated  creature  it 
would  be  impossible  to  imagine.     She  was  full  of  flesh 


FEEDING    AND    FATTENING  321 

when  lost,  but  when  discovered,  her  bones  were  barely 
covered  by  skin.  All  traces  of  the  litter  of  pigs  had 
disappeared.  She  is  not  able  to  stand  yet,  though 
gradually  gaining  strength ;  but  it  will  be  a  long  time 
before  she  regains  her  normal  condition." 

HOCiS  EATIXG  COAL  AM)  SAND 

Swine  havmg  access  to  it  will  eat  soft  (bituminous) 
coal,  and  under  some  circumstances  devour  inordinate 
quantities  of  it.  The  fact  that  they  do  this  indicates 
that  some  ingredient  their  systems  require  is  lacking 
from  their  ordinary  food.  Eaten  too  largely  it  tends  to 
constipation,  but  a  consensus  of  breeders'  opinions  is  that 
in  moderate  amounts  it  is  beneficial  rather  than  harmful, 
and  as  a  corrective,  tonic  or  condiment  its  use  should  be 
commended. 

Sandstone  or  sand  is  sometimes  eaten  by  hogs,  and  to 
an  injurious  extent.  As  with  coal  small  quantities  do 
no  particular  harm,  but  the  fact  that  hogs  crave  such 
unusual  substances  as  food  suggests  their  need  of  a  dif- 
ferent or  broader  diet. 

MISTAKES   IT  IS  W^IAj  TO  AVOID 

A  lifetime's  experience  as  a  raiser  of  swine  has 
prompted  a  successful  Kansas  farmer  to  record  a  list  of 
21  mistakes  which  he  thinks  others  less  experienced  are 
liable  to  make — at  least  in  part — and  these  being  of  such 
common  occurrence  and  his  counsel  so  pertinent  they  are 
presented  here.      He  says  : 

"It  is  a  mistake  for  one  inexperienced  to  undertake  the 
business  of  rearing  hogs  unless  he  expects  to  make  a 
study  of  it  and  to  profit  by  his  mistakes. 


322  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

"Jl  is  a  mistake  for  the  farmer  living  in  town  to  trust 
the  care  of  his  hogs  to  the  average  hired  man.  lie  is 
not  hkely  to  make  a  success  of  it. 

"It  is  a  mistake  to  try  to  raise  hogs  on  an  exckisivc 
corn  diet.  You  ask  what  kinds  of  feed  to  give  them?  I 
will  ask  you  what  kinds  of  feed  can  be  produced  on  your 
farm  and  in  your  locality;  then  give  them  a  variety  of 
these,  in  such  relation  to  each  other  as  to  meet  the  varied 
needs  of  the  swine  system. 

"It  is  a  mistake  to  forget  that  the  hog  is  a  grazing 
animal. 

"It  is  a  mistake  if  the  hogs  are  not  fed  in  a  clean  place, 
free  from  both  dust  and  mud. 

"It  is  a  mistake  to  overfeed  or  underfeed. 

"Ordinarily  it  is  a  mistake  not  to  feed  the  liquid  be- 
fore the  solid  food. 

"It  is  a  mistake  to  feed  constipating  food  with  noth- 
ing to  correct  it. 

"It  is  a  mistake  to  feed  breeding  stock  as  if  you  were 
litting  it  for  the  market. 

"It  is  a  mistake  to  feed  all  sizes  together,  when  the 
smaller  ones  are  at  a  disadvantage. 

"It  is  a  mistake  not  to  provide  the  herd  with  comfort- 
able quarters  at  all  times.  Failure  in  this  will  impair 
the  usefulness  of  the  feed. 

"It  is  a  mistake  not  to  have  the  pigs  grow  rapidly 
from  birth  to  market.  They  should  gain  every  pound 
possible  on  the  way. 

"It  is  a  mistake  to  feed  the  brood  sow  much  corn  be- 
fore farrowing.  She  should  have  cooling  and  laxative 
foods. 


1-EEDlNG    AND    FATTENING 


323 


"It  is  a  mistake  to  feed  her  heavily  for  some  days 
after  farrowing-. 

"It  is  a  mistake  to  give  her  pigs  sour  food  when  they 
are  learning  to  eat. 

"It  is  a  mistake  to  fail  to  feed  the  pigs  bonc-and- 
muscle-forming  materials  during  their  growth. 

"It  is  a  mistake  to  try  to  feed  both  the  liog  and  the 
worms  that  may  be  in  him  or  the  lice  that  may  be  on 
him;  the  hog  would  tell  you  so  if  he  knew  how. 


A  SELF-FEEDING  DEVICE   FOR   EAR  CORN   OR  ALFALFA 


"It  is  a  mistake  if  hogs  are  not  fed  at  regular  in- 
tervals. 

"It  is  a  mistake,  as  a  rule,  to  feed  for  fat  too  many 
months  before  marketing-. 

"It  is  a  mistake  to  use  high-priced  feeds  and  then 
market  at  a  loss.  Figure  your  probable  gain  or  loss  and 
govern  yourself  accordingly. 

"It  is  a  mistake  for  any  feeder  to  think  himself  so 
wise  that  he  cannot  learn  more." 


3^4 


SWINE  IN   AMERICA 


A  Strong  box  with  an  opening  of  about  4  inches  on 
each  side  next  to  the  bottom,  set  on  something  which 
keeps  it  up  off  the  ground,  as  shown  in  the  illustration, 
makes  an  excellent  feed  receptacle  to  have  in  a  pasture 
or  elsewhere.  It  is  not  only  useful  for  holding  ear  corn, 
but  alfalfa  or  clover  hay  as  well. 

A  self-feeder  for  shelled  corn  or  other  like  feed  is  de- 
scribed in  Wallaces'  Farmer  by  Charles  Mason,  of  Cedar 
county,  Iowa,  and  an  outline  of  it  is  given  here.     The 


MASON  S    SELF-FEEDER    FOR   SHELLED   CORN 


bottom  of  the  troughs  is  of  2-inch  plank,  and  the  sides 
are  of  grooved  lumber.  The  roof  and  the  sloping  floor 
on  the  inside  are  of  flooring,  and  the  roof  projects  over 
the  sides  2  feet  from  the  plate.  The  corners  are  ^Yz  feet 
high  from  the  4x4s  on  which  it  is  built,  with  a  2x4  plate 
to  which  the  roof  is  nailed.  The  4x4s  project  12  inches 
at  one  end  and  serve  as  skids  for  hitching  to  when  the 
feeder  is  moved.  A  floor  4  feet  wide,  not  attached,  is 
on  each  side  of  the  feeder  for  the  hogs  to  stand  on  when 
eating.     The  siding  commences  2  inches  above  the  floor 


■ENDING    AND    TATTENING 


325 


of  the  trous^'hs,  and  liinged  doors   forming-  part  of  the 
roof  or  co\-er  afford  openings  for  putting  in  the  feed. 

MARIiET  CLASSES  AND  GRADES 

"rhe  farmer  in  selHng  his  hogs  to  the  local  buyer  or 
shipper  is  often  at  a  disadvantage  because  of  his  in- 
ability to  interpret  market  reports  to  the  full  extent  of 
I  heir  meaning,  and  therefore  either  does  not  get  what 
his  stock  is  worth,  or  perhaps  loses  a  sale  through  lack 
of  the  useful  information  he  needs.  Helpful  to  a  better 
understanding  of  the  market  side  of  the  business  Wil- 
h'am  Dietrich  of  the  Illiniois  experiment  station,  in  Bul- 
letin No.  97.  explains  how  swine  are  classified  and 
graded  on  the  Chicag(^  and  other  markets,  as  follows : 


MARKET    CLASSIFICATION    OF    SWINE 

Classes.  Subclasses.  Grades. 

Prime  heavy  hogs. 

.350  to  500  pounds Prime. 

Heavy  butchers,  280  to  350  pounds f  Prime. 

IGood. 


Butcher  hops. 

180  to  350  pounds. 


Medium  butchers,  220  to  280  pmmds 
Light  butchers,  180  to  220  pounds.... 


Prime. 

Good. 
Common. 


f  Heavy  packing,  300  to  500  pounds.. 

Packing  hogs,  -I  Medium  jjacking,  250  to  300  pound? 

200  to  500  pounds.  1  Mixed  packing,  200  to  280  pounds. . 


LiglTt  hogs, 

125  to  220  pounds. 


Pigs,  60  to  125  p< 


i  Light  light,  125  to  150  pounds 


[Good. 
]  Common. 
[  Inferior. 


f  f  Choice. 

I  English,  160  to  220  pounds {  Light. 

I  Fat. 
con    < 

f  Choice. 
I  UnitC'l  States,  155  to  195  pounds..  .   JGood. 
1  I  Common. 

[Good. 

i  Light  mixed,  150  to  220  pounds i  Common. 

I  ( Inferior. 


[Good. 
<  Common. 
[  Tnfrricjr. 
(  Choice. 
]Go„d. 
1  Common, 


326 


SWINE  IN   AMERICA 


Roughs. 
Stags. 
Boars. 
Miscellaneous: 

Roasting  pigs,  IS  to  30  pounds. 

Feeders. 

Governments. 

Pen  holders. 

Dead  Hogs. 

Mr.  Dietrich  describes  the  various  classes  substan- 
tially as  follows : 

PRIME  HEAVY  HOGS 

These  include  prime,  heavy,  fat-back  hogs  represent- 
ing the  extreme  of  the  fat  or  lard  hog  type.  "With  the 
tendencies  of  the  market  working  toward  the  lighter 
hogs,  there  are  not  very  many  of  these  heavy  hogs  at 
present ;  however,  there  are  still  enough  to  make  a  mar- 
ket class." 


A  SELF-FEEDER  USED  AT  THE  KANSAS   PENITENTIARY 


BUTCHER  HOGS 


These  are  commonly  used  for  the  fresh-meat  trade 
and  constitute  about  25  per  cent  of  the  hogs  coming  to 
the  Chicago  market.  Butcher  hogs  as  a  class  are  prin- 
cipally barrows,  and  range  in  age  from  six  months  for 
light  butchers  to  one  year  for  heavy  butchers.  "Other 
things  being  equal,  barrows  sell  more  readily  and  at 


FEEDING  AND  FATTENING  32/ 

better  prices  than  do  sows.  In  a  drove  of  butcher  hogs 
there  may  be  present  a  few  good  sows  without  detract- 
ing from  the  value  of  the  drove.  Hogs  that  will  grade 
as  prime  butchers,  either  heavy,  medium,  or  light,  must 
be  perfect  in  quality,  ideal  in  form,  and  must  show  much 
evidence  of  ripeness  in  condition  as  well  as  maturity." 

Good  butchers,  though  not  equal  to  prime  butchers, 
are  still  very  good  representatives  of  highly  developed 
liog'S.  ''Compared  with  prime  butchers,  the  good  butch- 
ers may  be  slightly  deficient  in  form,  or  a  little  lacking- 
in  quality  or  maturity,  or  may  be  lacking  somewhat  in 
condition." 

Common  butchers  are  found  only  in  the  medium  and 
light  butcher  classes.  "The  common  butcher  hog  is  one 
that  shows  considerable  evidence  of  having  been  well 
fed,  and  possesses  compactness,  smoothness,  and  firm- 
ness. I'Yequentl}',  however,  he  is  not  a  mature  animal, 
and  is  considerably  more  deficient  in  form,  quality  and 
condition  that  the  prime  butcher  hog." 

PACKING  HOGS 

Packing  hogs  are  as  a  class  of  a  poorer  grade  than  are 
the  butcher  hogs,  and  include  old  brood  sows  and  all 
oilier  hogs  heavy  enough  for  this  class  and  not  good 
enough  for  the  butcher  hog  class,  except  the  very  poor 
classes,  such  as  roughs,  boars  and  coarse  stags.  "The 
side  pork  from  these  hogs  is  used  principally  in  the  va- 
rious processes  of  curing.  It  is  made  into  mess  pork, 
short-cut  mess  pork,  dry  salt  sides,  and  the  hams  and 
shoulders  arc  cured.     About  40  per  cent  of  the  hogs 


;^28  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

coming  to  the  Chicago  market  annually  arc  of  this  class. 
They  range  in  age  upward  of  about  nine  months.  A 
200-pound  packing  hog  is  usually  older  than  a  joo-pound 
butcher  hog." 

Heavy  packing  subclass  includes  the  heavy  hogs  and 
medium  packing  the  lighter  hogs  of  this  class.  Mixed 
packing  is  a  subclass  representative  of  hogs  as  they  come 
to  the  yards  from  local  buyers  in  the  country,  including 
hogs  of  different  classes  as  well  as  different  grades  and 
weight,  as  the  name  indicates 

LIGHT   HOGS 


125  to  220  pounds,  except  roughs,  stags  and  boars,  which 
form  separate  classes.  "About  15  per  cent  of  all  the 
hogs  coming  to  Chicago  are  of  this  class.  They  range 
in  age  from  five  to  eight  months.  Since  this  class  in- 
cludes practically  all  hogs  within  the  given  weight  limits, 
they  must  necessarily  be  quite  different  as  to  form, 
quality  and  condition.  Such  being  the  case,  the  meat 
from  the  same  is  prepared  differentl}\  thus  making  the 
subclasses  of  more  importance  than  in  the  two  former 
classes." 

Breakfast  bacon,  as  is  well  known,  is  cut  from  the  side 
of  a  hog,  and  is  prepared  by  salting  the  pork  and  then 
smoking.  In  some  cases  the  hams  and  shoulders  are 
sold  separately,  although  much  of  the  English  bacon  is 
cut  into  what  is  called  a  "Wiltshire  side";  i.  c,  the  whole 
side,  witli  simply  the  head  and  feet  cut  off.  Many  of 
the  hogs  sold  in  the  Chicago  and  other  markets  of  the 


FEEDING    AND    FATTENING  329 

United  States  for  bacon  purposes  are  not  of  the  ideal 
bacon  type.  The  bacon  hog  must  be  "long  in  body, 
deep  in  side,  with  comparatively  narrow  back,  narrow 
and  light  hams  and  shoulders,  and  light,  muscular  neck." 
This  form  is  desirable  because  it  is  the  side  of  the  hog 
that  furnishes  tlie  best  and  most  expensi\-e  cuts,  and  it 
is  necessary  to  have  as  much  as  possible  of  this  at  the 
expense  of  the  other  parts.  This  hog  must  also  show 
indications  of  having  hrm  flesh,  be  well  covered  with 
lean  meat  or  muscle,  and  must  not  have  an  excess  of  fat 
on  the  outside  of  the  carcass.  The  fat  on  the  outside 
should  not  be  more  than  i  to  iM  inches  in  thickness,  and 
should  be  evenly  distributed  o\-er  the  entire  carcass.  The 
weight  must  be  between  i6o  and  220  pounds,  as  this 
makes  the  most  desirable  cuts  as  to  size,  flavor  and  firm- 
ness. From  the  very  nature  of  a  cut  of  bacon,  size  is 
of  mucli  importance.  A  hog  smaller  than  the  gi\-en 
weight  would  furnish  a  side  of  bacon  that  would  be  too 
thin,  and  one  larger  than  this  would  furnish  one  that 
would  be  too  thick. 

THE  BEST  AGE  FOR  A  BACON  HOG 

A  hog  old  enough,  that  with  good  care  and  breeding 
will  weigh  from  160  to  220  pounds,  furnishes  bacon 
that  is  of  the  best  flavor.  A  hog  smaller  than  this  would 
very  likely  be  too  young,  and  one  heavier  than  this  would 
be  too  old  to  furnish  bacon  of  the  best  flavor.  In  firm- 
ness of  flesh,  also,  the  160  to  220-pound  l)acon  hog  is 
likely  to  be  most  desirable.  A  liog  younger  than  is  re- 
quired to  produce  this  size  would  have  too  much  water 
in  its  flesh;  for  the  younger  the  animal,  tlie  more  water 


330  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

it  has  incorporated  in  its  system,  and  this  excess  of 
water  in  the  system  of  the  young  hog"  not  only  detracts 
from  the  firmness  of  the  flesh,  hut  also  replaces  much  of 
the  food  value,  thus  forming  a  meat  that  has  less  "sub- 
stance." When  a  hog  is  heavier  than  220  pounds,  he 
is  not  so  good  for  bacon  purposes,  because  when  be- 
yond the  age  required  to  produce  this  weight  there  is  a 
greater  tendency  to  lay  on  fat.  not  only  on  the  outside 
of  the  carcass,  but  also  to  intermix  more  fat  with  the 
lean  meat,  thus  producing  too  much  fat  in  proportion 
to  lean  meat  for  the  best  bacon.  After  this  age  there 
is  also  more  of  a  tendency  to  lay  on  fat  unevenly  and  in 
patches,  and  where  this  occurs  it  is  impossible  to  pro- 
duce good  bacon. 

By  the  term  choice,  in  reference  to  a  bacon  hog,  is 
meant  one  that  conforms  as  nearly  as  possible  to  the 
above  description.  It  must  have  the  form  that  is  char- 
acteristic of  this  type  of  hog,  and  must  have  the  best 
quality  and  condition  that  is  desired  for  the  bacon  trade. 

To  be  in  good  condition  a  bacon  hog  must  have  a 
good  development  of  lean  meat  or  muscle,  with  the 
proper  amount  of  fat  as  outlined  above.  He  must  be 
smooth,  well  developed,  and  have  a  large  proportion  of 
edible  meat,  while  the  proportion  of  fat  and  other  offal 
must  be  small.  Hams,  shoulders,  jowls,  and  neck  must 
also  be  small  in  proportion  to  length  and  depth  of  side. 
If  a  hog  has  all  these  characteristics  of  form,  quality 
and  condition  developed  to  a  marked  degree,  he  would 
be  considered  a  choice  bacon  hog. 

It  may  be  thought  that  the  production  of  bacon  is 
possible  only  with  certain  breeds  of  swine  and  that  these 


FEEDING    AND    FATTENING  33 1 

breeds  will  always  produce  bacon  under  all  circum- 
stances. While  this  is  true  in  a  general  way,  it  is  not  al- 
ways true.  It  is  the  feed  and  mode  of  life  that  pro- 
duces the  bacon  hog  and  that  enables  him  to  retain  his 
form  as  such  after  he  has  been  developed. 

The  bacon-hog  type  of  the  United  States  differs  con- 
siderably from  the  English  bacon  hog,  which  has  re- 
cently been  introduced  into  the  United  States  and  is 
rapidly  establishing  for  itself  a  market  class.  There  is, 
liowever,  a  growing  tendency  toward  the  typical  bacon 
type. 

FEW  BAOOX  HOGS  TN  AiVrERICA 

There  is  a  demand  on  the  markets  of  this  country 
from  foreign  countries,  and  more  largely  from  our  own 
country,  for  bacon,  and  there  being  few  bacon  hogs  to 
supply  the  demand,  the  trade  is  supplied  from  the  lighter 
hogs  of  the  fat  or  lard  hog  type.  The  bacon,  however, 
does  not  command  so  high  a  price  on  the  market  as  does 
bacon  from  typical  bacon  hogs.  The  bacon  hogs  under 
consideration  here  weigh  from  155  to  195  pounds,  and 
range  in  age  from  six  to  eight  months.  They  are  simply 
hogs  selected  from  the  light  hogs  in  general  that  conform 
as  nearly  as  possible  to  the  bacon  type.  They  are  not 
\-ery  fat,  have  fairly  good  development  of  muscle  or  lean 
meat,  and  are  as  long  and  deej)  inside  as  is  possible  to 
obtain  them.  About  20  per  cent  of  the  light  hogs  that 
come  to  the  Chicago  market  are  of  this  type. 

About  55  per  cent  of  the  light  hogs  coming  to  the 
Chicago  market  are  said  to  be  of  tlie  light  mixed  class, 
a  somewhat  miscellaneous  sort,  quite  similar,  except  as 


332  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

to  weight,  to  mixed  packing  hogs,  and  containing  hogs 
of  the  h'glit  butcher  weights  that  are  too  poor  in  quaHty, 
form  and  concHtion  for  butcher  hogs,  as  well  as  hogs  of 
the  same  weight  as  the  bacon  hogs,  but  which  are  too 
much  of  the  fat  or  lard  type  hog  for  bacon.  "This  class, 
then,  is  the  'dumping  ground'  for  the  outcasts  of  two 
former  classes  of  hogs.  In  one  case  it  takes  the  poorer 
hogs  and  in  the  other  case  the  better  hogs,  considered 
from  the  fat  or  lard  hog  standpoint.  Hogs  of  this  class 
are  used  principally  for  the  fresh-meat  trade.  They 
range  in  age  from  five  to  seven  months." 

It  is  stated  that  about  25  per  cent  of  the  light  hogs 
coming  to  the  Chicago  market  are  of  the  light  light 
class,  wliich  includes  hogs  ranging  in  age  from  five  to 
six  months  and,  as  the  name  indicates,  the  lightest  of 
light  hogs.  "While  the  'light  butchers'  and  'bacon  hogs' 
are  the  selected  kinds  of  their  respective  weight  with  con- 
sequent small  variation  between  the  different  grades,  the 
class  of  'light  light  hogs'  includes  all  the  hogs  of  this 
weight,  consequently  the  range  in  the  grades  is  wider. 
They  are  used  principally  for  the  fresh-meat  trade." 


PIGS 


Pigs,  as  found  on  the  market,  range  in  weight  from 
60  to  125  pounds,  and  in  age  from  three  and  a  half  to 
six  months.  This  class,  like  that  of  light  light  hogs,  in- 
cludes all  the  pigs  that  range  within  the  given  weights. 
"They  are  used  principally  to  supply  the  demand  from 
the  cheaper  restaurants  and  lunch  counters,  and  are  in 
greatest  demand  in  winter,  being  hard  to  preserve  fresh 


FEEDING    AND    FATTENING  333 

in  summer  and  too  young  to  cure.  About  lo  per  cent 
of  tlie  hogs  coming  to  the  Chicago  market  are  of  this 
class." 

ROUGHS 

This  class  includes  hogs  of  all  sizes  that  are  coarse, 
rough,  and  lacking  in  condition — too  inferior  to  be 
classed  as  packing  hogs  or  as  light  mixed  hogs.  "The 
])ork  from  these  hogs  is  used  for  the  cheaper  class  of 
trade  for  both  packing  and  fresh-meat  purposes.  In 
market  reports  pigs  and  roughs  are  frequently  classed 
together,  not  because  they  belong  in  the  same  class,  but 
because  they  sell  at  approximately  the  same  price." 

STAGS 

''Stags  are  hogs  that  at  one  time  were  boars  beyond 
the  pig  stage  and  have  been  subsequently  castrated. 
I'hey  sell  with  a  dockage  of  80  pounds.  If  they  are  of 
good  C[uality  and  condition  and  do  not  show  too  much 
stagginess  they  go  in  with  the  various  grades  of  packing 
hogs.  When  they  are  coarse  and  staggy  in  appearance 
they  are  sold  in  the  same  class  with  boars.  The  inter- 
mediary grades  sell  for  prices  ranging  between  these 
extremes,  dependent  upon  their  freedom  from  stagginess 
and  their  quality  and  condition." 

BOARS 

"Boars  are  always  sold  in  a  class  by  themselves  and 
bring  from  $2  to  $3  per  100  pounds  less  than  the  best 
hogs  on  the  market  at  the  same  time.  They  always  .sell 
straight,  with  no  dockage.  There  are  no  distinctions  as 
to  grades;  they  simply  sell  as  boars.     Of  course,  if  there 


334  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

are  marked  differences  as  to  quality  and  condition,  the 
price  varies  a  little  accordingly.  The  pork  from  these 
animals  is  used  to  supply  the  cheaper  class  of  trade,  and 
also  for  making  sausage." 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Roasting  pigs  are  not  generally  quoted  in  market  re- 
ports. They  reach  the  market  in  small  numbers  and 
only  during  the  holiday  seasons,  and  their  price  varies 
greatly 

Feeders  are  hogs  bought  on  the  market  and  taken  back 
to  the  country  to  be  further  fed,  a  practice  which  is 
followed  only  to  a  very  limited  extent. 

Governments  are  hogs  rejected  by  the  government  in- 
spector as  not  sound  in  every  respect.  "They  are  usually 
bought  up  by  a  local  dealer  and  taken  to  one  of  the 
smaller  packing  houses  where  they  are  slaughtered 
under  the  supervision  of  an  inspector.  If  found  to  be 
affected  so  as  to  make  their  flesh  unfit  for  human  food, 
they  are  condemned,  slaughtered,  and  tanked.  The  tank 
is  a  large,  steam-tight  receptacle,  like  a  steam  boiler,  in 
which  the  lard  is  rendered  under  steam  pressure.  This 
high  degree  of  heat  destroys  all  disease  germs  with 
which  the  diseased  carcass  may  have  been  affected.  The 
product  of  the  tank  is  converted  into  grease  and  ferti- 
lizer." 

"The  commission  men  who  sell  the  stock  as  it  comes  to 
the  yards,  and  the  speculators  who  handle  part  of  it,  pay 
nothing  for  their  privilege  of  doing  business  in  the  yards. 
They  hold  their  respective  positions  by  common  consent 
and   their   respective  pens   by   keeping  hogs   in   them." 


FEEDING    AND    FATTENING  335 

These  hogs  are  called  pen  holders,  and  have  no  influence 
on  the  market. 

Dead  hogs  are  those  killed  in  the  cars  in  transit,  and 
<'',re  used  for  the  manufacture  of  grease,  soap,  and  ferti- 
lizer. "If  they  weigh  loo  pounds  or  over  they  sell  for 
75  cents  per  loo  pounds.  If  they  weigh  less  they  fur- 
nish no  revenue  to  the  producer  or  shipper,  the  cost  ot* 
handling  the  same  being  held  equal  to  their  value." 

About  two-fifths  of  the  world's  hog  supply  is  produced 
in  the  United  States,  and  about  six-sevenths  of  these 
are  produced  in  the  Alississippi  valley ;  hence  this  section 
of  the  country  has  developed  the  fat  or  lard  liog-  and 
has  set  the  standard  for  hogs  in  other  parts  of  the 
United  States. 

The  fat  or  lard  hog  is  such  because  corn  has  been  his 
])i-incipal  feed  and  because  there  has  been  a  demand 
for  pork  from  such  a  hog,  and  lie  will  conform  to  the 
present  prevailing  type  just  as  long  as  corn  remains  his 
|)rincipal  feed. 

Butcher  hogs  are  the  best  hogs  from  the  fat  or  lard 
hog  standpoint  that  come  to  market,  and  should  be  used 
as  a  standard  for  comparison. 

From  the  bacon  market  standpoint  the  English  bacon 
hog  is  the  ideal  toward  which  hogs  are  being  developed. 

To  the  close  observer  it  is  apparent  that  the  gradually 
changing  conditions  brought  about  by  the  development 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  increase  in  the  price  of 
corn  resulting  from  its  varied  commercial  uses,  cause  the 
liog  to  be  fed  a  more  mixed  and  usually  a  more  nitroge- 
nous ration.  It  is  not  improbable  that  this  will  in  the 
future  affect  the  type  of  the  hog  of  the  Ignited  States, 


336  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

SO  that  it  will  more  nearly  approach  that  of  the  English 
bacon  hog. 

An  obvious  deduction  from  the  bulletni  is  the  advan- 
tage of  uniformity  in  the  lots  of  hogs  shipped  to  large 
markets,  which  conform  to  recognized  classes.  The  chief 
purpose  of  the  bulletin  is  to  explain  the  system  of  grading 
or  classifying  hogs,  in  order  that  the  farmer  may  under- 
stand the  market  side  of  the  business  more  thoroughly 
and  be  better  able  to  interpret  the  market  reports.  This 
classification  is  necessardy  somewhat  flexible  in  its  ap- 
plication, depending  upon  individual  judgment;  and, 
hence,  there  is  greater  opportunity  for  difference  of  opin- 
ion in  the  case  of  an  uneven  lot  of  hogs.  In  the  higher 
grades  especially  uniformity  is  quite  desirable,  and  a  few 
inferior  animals  may  bring  down  the  price  of  the  whole 
lot,  as  they  injure  its  appearance.  This  lack  of  uniform- 
ity and  the  lack  of  condition  is  responsible  for  certain 
"mixed"  classes  which  are  made  the  dumping  ground 
for  the  outcasts  of  the  higher  grades.  Such  mixed  lots 
sell  at  a  disadvantage.  Speculators  take  advantage  of 
this,  buying  several  carloads,  which  they  sort  into  vari- 
ous classes  and  resell  at  a  profit  because  they  are  then 
properly  graded. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Grains  and  Ground  Feeds 

Througliout  tlie  greater  portion  of  the  hog  raising 
territory  of  the  United  States,  wheat  and  all  other  grains 
are  valued  as  foods  for  live  stock  by  comparison  with  In- 
dian corn,  and  their  use  is  either  as  a  balance  for  corn, 
or  as  a  substitute  in  time  of  scarcity  and  high  price.  Out- 
side the  corn  growing  territory  the  small  grains  generally 
form  the  basis  of  animal  rations.  In  either  situation  a 
working  knowledge  of  the  values  of  various  small  grains 
for  feeding  swine  may  be  the  means  of  yielding  a  profit 
not  to  be  despised. 

WHEAT 

Up  to  recent  times  the  man  who  used  his  surplus  wheat 
as  a  substitute  for  corn  in  st(Ki<  feeding  was  an  object  of 
more  or  less  criticism  or  ridicule  l)y  his  neighbors  and  in 
the  farm  press.  In  1893,  howe\er,  an  accumulation  of 
wlieat  and  a  subsequent  low  price,  coincident  with  a 
shortage  of  and  high  prices  for  corn  in  many  states,  in- 
duced many  farmers  to  feed  wheat  to  tlieir  live  stock. 
The  results  and  the  experiments  conducted  since  that 
time  ha\e  made  the  feeding  value  of  wheat  much  better 
miderstood  and  more  generally  recognized,  and  where  a 
prolit  would  accrue  it  has  since  been  considered  emi- 
nently proper  to  feed  wheat  to  farm  animals. 


338  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

Pound  for  pouno,  wheat  is  about  the  equivalent  of 
corn  for  producing  pork.  It  is  estimated  that  by  ordi- 
nary farm  methods  an  average  of  five  pounds  of  wheat  or 
corn  are  required  to  yield  a  pound  of  j5brk  when  either 
grain  is  fed  by  itself.  Wheat,  having  more  of  the  tissue- 
building  elements,  will  give  more  lean  meat  than  corn, 
and,  hence,  corn  is  preferred  for  fattening.  Wheat-fed 
and  corn-fed  hogs  appear  to  be  equally  well  liked  by  the 
i:)acker.  The  Armour  Packing  Company  said  in  letters  to 
the  author  in  the  winter  of  1894-95  :  "From  the  informa- 
tion we  gather,  most  of  the  hogs  w'e  have  killed  this  win- 
ter have  been  fed  considerable  wheat,  and  we  find  the 
quality  of  the  meat  is  very  satisfactory  in  every  way.  The 
percentages  do  not  vary  much  except  in  the  yield  of  lard, 
which  is  decidedly  in  favor  of  corn-fed  hogs,  but  the 
meat  from  the  wheat-fed  hogs  is  firm,  well  streaked  with 
lean,  and  particularly  desirable  for  bacon  and  fancy 
cuts."  The  percentages  referred  to  are  shown  in  the 
table  on  page  339  which  compares  86  hogs  having  an 
average  weight  of  248  pounds,  fed  on  corn  and  slaugh- 
tered at  Armour's  November  3,  1894.  with  71  hogs  hav- 
ing an  a^■erage  weight  of  251  pounds,  fed  on  wheat,  but 
no  corn,  since  July,  1894,  and  slaughtered  at  Armour's 
(in  both  instances  at  the  Kansas  City  plant)  October  11, 
^894. 

Records  kept  by  farmers  as  well  as  at  tlie  experiment 
stations  have  shown  wheat  to  have  a  feeding  value  of  $1 
per  bushel  when  fed  to  pigs.  P.  D.  Armour,  Jr..  made 
a  test  in  1894  with  18  pigs  about  four  months  old,  feed- 
ing them  wheat  crushed  and  soaked  24  hours,  and  given 
three  times  a  day,  no  other  feed  being  used.     The  lot 


GRAINS    AND    GROUND    1-EEDS 


339 


weighed  1,975  pounds  on  September  15,  and  by  Septem- 
ber 29  they  had  consumed  1,650  pounds  of  the  wheat  and 
weighed  2,500  pounds,  a  gain  of  525  pounds.  Taking 
the  market  price  for  hogs  at  the  time,  five  cents  per 
pound,  and  the  price  of  wheat,  53  cents  per  bushel,  the 
vahie  received  for  the  wheat  was  $26.25,  o'"  ^  ^^^tW  more 
tlian  95  cents  a  busiiel.    The  lot  showed  a  weight  October 

COMPARATIVE     KILLING     RESULTS     FROM    CORN-FED     AND 
WHEAT-FED  HOGS 


Com-fed. 

Wheat-fed. 

Weights. 
Pounds. 

Per 
cent. 

Weghts. 
Pounds. 

Per 
cent. 

Ex,  S.  C.  Sides 

5,470 
1,990 
1,373 
1,148 
2,727 
2,01s 
540 

25,64 
9.33 
6.44 
5.38 

12.78 
9.45 
2.53 

4,557 
1.639 
1,192 

860 
2,232 
1,336 

522 

25.58 
9.19 

D.  S.  Shoulders 

6.69 

12    52 

Lard 

7.50 

Leaf  Lard 

2.53 

Total  Cuts 

15,263 
1.525 

71.55 

7.15 

12,338 
1.405 

69   24 

Total  Offal 

7   88 

Total  Turnout 

16,788 
21,330 

78.70 

13,743 
17,820 

77    12 

Gross  WeiKhts 

13  of  3.060  pounds,  or  a  gain  since  the  preceding  test 
of  560  pounds.  They  had  consumed  since  September 
29.  1,638  pounds  of  wheat,  and  with  the  hogs  at  $4.90 
on  October  14,  they  would  have  netted  on  the  gain, 
$27.44,  or  a  net  price  for  the  wheat  of  $1  a  bushel.  This 
sliowing  may  probably  be  taken  as  a  fair  average;  feed- 
ers' reports  in  the  farm  press  have  ranged  from  65  cents 
tr  $1.38  a  bushel  as  returns  from  feeding  wheat  to  hogs. 


340  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

While  wheat  may,  on  the  whole,  have  a  slight  advan- 
tage over  corn  except  as  a  finishing  feed,  the  disparity  in 
prices  ordinarily  makes  it  the  more  expensive.  It  is 
e\ident  that  wheat  will  not  be  used  to  any  large  extent  in 
America  as  food  for  swine,  except  in  years  of  extra- 
ordinarily low  prices.  In  sections  outside  the  corn- 
growing  territory,  where  wheat  may  perchance  be  the 
cheapest  feed,  rye  or  barley  is  usually  available  as  a  sup- 
plement, together  with  clover,  alfalfa,  or  other  pastur- 
age. A  good  proportion  when  feeding  wheat  is  two 
pounds  of  wheat  to  one  pountl  of  barley,  fed  coarsely 
ground  and  soaked  sufliciently  to  saturate  the  meal 
thoroughly,  and  given  in  quantities  varying  according 
to  the  age  of  the  pigs,  but  not  larger  than  they  will  clean 
up  well.  A  mixture  of  two  parts  of  rye,  two  of  barley 
and  one  of  wheat  is  excellent.  In  any  event,  wheat 
alone  would  not  be  best,  and  some  other  suitable  feed 
should  be  provided  with  it.  Where  wheat  is  more 
readily  available  than  corn  the  type  of  hog  will  more 
nearly  approach  the  bacon  demand,  and  corn  will  con- 
tinue to  reign  where  the  lard  hog'  flourishes.  As  wheat 
possesses  more  of  the  growth-furnishing  elements  than 
of  fattening  material,  compared  with  corn,  it  is  of  greater 
Aalue  for  breeding  stock  and  young  pigs,  when  properly 
used.  In  the  opinion  of  Prof.  H.  M.  Cottrell,  finish- 
ing on  wheat  has  some  tendency  to  make  the  meat  tough. 

Experiments  made  at  the  Central  experimental  farm 
of  Canada  show  that  wheat  may  be  more  or  less  damaged 
by  frost  without  destroying  its  value  as  hog  feed. 
Spoiled  wheat — bleached,  shriveled  or  sprouted — rejected 
or  greatly  cut  in  price  at  the  mill,   ma}'  be  turned  to 


■"  .s 

o'" 
h5  c 


/.  - , 

lb  0) 


6 


GRAINS  AND  GROUND  FEEDS  34 1 

good  profit  in  pork  g-rowing.  "The  shriveled  wheat," 
sa}-s  one  prominent  writer,  "is  a  more  nearly  halanced  ra- 
tion than  the  perfect  grain.  The  hleached  wheat,  while 
light  in  weight,  has  yet  nearly  the  food  equivalent  of 
the  sound  wheat.  Sprouted  wheat  has  perhaps  two- 
thirds  of  the  feeding  value  of  the  wheat  before  it  was 
sprouted.  Millers  will  give  little  or  nothing  for  these; 
therefore,  feed  them  liberally  to  young,  growing  stock." 

WHEAT  BRAN  AND  MIDDLINGS 

Wheat  middlings  or  shorts  has  an  important  and 
recognized  value  as  a  feed,  and  economical  if  not  too 
high  in  price.  As  with  all  milling  by-products,  it  should 
be  used  in  connection  with  corn  or  other  feed.  Mid- 
dlings, mixed  with  water  enough  to  make  an  attractive, 
milky  slop,  and  used  with  corn  and  pasture,  makes  a 
pleasing  ration.  ^Vith  matured  hogs  one-third  mid- 
dlings and  two-thirds  corn  will  give  satisfaction,  but 
with  young,  growing  pigs,  the  mixture  should  be  two- 
thirds  middlings  and  one-third  corn. 

Middlings  is  rich  in  protein,  with  a  fair  amount  of  ash, 
and  lacks  the  crude  fiber  which  lowers  the  feeding  value 
of  bran.  Henry  has  said  that  "as  a  feed  for  swine  at 
all  periods  of  their  development,  middlings  stands  pre- 
eminent." Feeding  experiments  at  the  Maine  station  (Re- 
port of  1889)  gave,  with  the  same  allowance  of  feed, 
twice  the  value  to  middlings  as  to  wheat  bran.  Bran 
can  be  fed  only  in  limited  quantities  because  of  the  small 
capacity  for  bulk  in  the  pig's  stomach. 

Henry's  compilation  of  experiments  in  "Feeds  and 
Feeding"  shows  that  middlings  is  superior  to  corn  when 


34-  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

fed  alone,  but  that  a  combination  of  corn  and  niiddhngs 
proves  20  per  cent  more  economical  than  middlings 
alone.  At  a  price  around  $25  a  ton  for  middlings,  it  may 
ordinarily  be  considered  an  expensive  feed. 

]i  should  be  stated  that  there  is  liable  to  be  mis- 
apprehension as  to  the  use  of  the  word  middlings,  and 
that  the  meaning  and  analysis  of  this  commodity  as 
known  at  the  time  of  preparing  this  volume  and  as 
understood,  say  up  to  twenty-five  years  before,  are  per- 
haps quite  different.  Prior  to  the  manufacturing  of 
Hour  by  the  present  or  "roller"  process,  middlings  was 
a  product  in  which  there  was  retained  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  wheat's  flour,  that  the  old  buhr  process 
of  milling  failed  to  separate  from  the  outer  or  inter- 
mediate bran.  This  made  a  quite  rich,  and  when  wet,  a 
very  sticky  mass  or  food.  Millers  say  that  under  the 
present  system  of  flour  making  there  is  practically  no 
such  product  as  the  old-time  middlings;  instead,  what 
goes  by  that  name  is  virtually  but  shorts  or  "mill-tail- 
ings," and  commercially  the  terms  "shorts,"  "middlings" 
and  "shipstuff"  now  mean  the  same  thing,  which  analy- 
ses show  as  having  about  the  same  food  elements  as 
bran  (from  the  hard  winter  wheats),  thus:  Protein,  14 
to  17  per  cent;  carbohydrates,  54  to  57  per  cent;  fat,  4 
to  5  per  cent.  The  same  product  from  northern  spring 
wheats  is  given  a  rather  lower  valuation  and  sells  at  $1 
to  $1.50  less  per  ton.  In  spite,  however,  of  what  analy- 
sis shows,  the  present-day  shorts,  middlings  or  shipstuff 
sell  in  the  markets  for  about  20  per  cent  more  than  bran, 
due,  it  is  claimed,   to  the   fact  that  the  finely  ground 


GRAINS    AND    GROUND    1-EEDS  343 

shorts  make  a  more  satisfactory  slop  for  pigs  than  can 
be  made  of  bran. 

KAFIR-CORN 

Two  experiments  were  carried  on  at  the  Kansas  sta- 
tion by  Prof.  C.  C.  Georgeson  in  feeding  swine  with  red 
Kafir-corn  meal.  The  first  was  planned  to  ascertain  the 
relative  feeding  value  of  Kafir-corn  meal,  corn  meal  and 
ground  wheat.  Twelve  shotes  eight  months  old  were 
selected  for  the  test,  and  divided  into  three  lots,  consist- 
ing of  one  barrow  and  three  sows  each.  The  test  con- 
tinued from  December  zy  to  March  14.  The  feed, 
mostly,  was  wet  overnight  and  each  shote  was  given  all 
it  would  eat,  but  no  more.  They  were  penned  in  a 
gloomy  barn  basement.  From  the  results  obtained  the 
following  conclusions  were  drawn  : 

"In  the  comparison  of  wheat,  corn  and  red  Kafir-corn 
as  fattening  food  for  hogs,  the  wheat  proved  to  be  the 
most  effective,  followed  closely  by  corn ;  red  Kafir-corn, 
although  a  good  feed,  was  not  equal  in  fattening  qualities 
to  either  of  the  others.  It  required  respectively  4. 11 
pounds  of  wheat  and  4.38  pounds  of  corn  to  produce  a 
pound  of  gain,  while  of  red  Kafir-corn  it  required  5.15 
pounds  to  produce  the  same  result ;  but  it  sliould  be 
noted  in  this  connection  that  the  experiment  was  carried 
out  during  the  coldest  portion  of  the  winter  and  that  the 
hogs  were  confined  strictly  to  these  feeds.  Under  favor- 
able weather  the  results  would  doubtless  have  been  much 
better,  and  in  like  manner,  these  grains  might  have  given 
tlilTerent  results  if  fed  in  judicious  mixtures  with  other 
suitable  feed." 


344  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

The  second  experiment  was  to  test  the  value  of  Kafir- 
corn  meal  and  soy  bean  meal  in  comparison  with  corn 
meal.  Twelve  pigs  of  Berkshire  and  Poland-China 
blood,  weighing  from  52  to  yj  pounds  (average  63 
pounds)  were  full  fed,  three  times  daily,  from  November 
7  to  March  12,  with  meal  that  had  soaked  overnight  or 
longer.  Owing  to  various  circumstances,  the  original 
plan  of  the  experiment  could  not  be  carried  out,  but 
from  it  all  Professor  Georgeson  evolved  this  summary: 

1.  Red  Kafir-corn  meal  did  not  prove  quite  equal 
to  corn  meal  as  a  fattening  food.  The  poor  gains  of 
two  of  the  lots  were,  however,  in  the  main  due  to  their 
inferior  feeding  qualities.  The  Poland-China  gilt  in  one 
lot  fed  on  Kafir-corn  made  a  fairly  good  gain  on  this 
feed. 

2.  A  mixture  of  two-thirds  Kafir-corn  meal  and  one- 
third  soy  bean  meal  produced  excellent  gains.  The  soy 
bean  meal  apparently  corrected  the  defects  of  the  Kafir- 
corn  meal  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  the  mixture  a  de- 
sirable feed. 

3.  A  mixture  of  two-thirds  corn  meal  and  one-third 
soy  bean  meal  gave  slightly  better  results  than  Kafir-corn 
meal  and  soy  bean  meal.  The  conclusion  to  be  drawn 
from  this  is  that  red  Kafir-corn  meal  is  not  as  good  a 
feed  for  hogs  as  corn  meal,  but  that  when  either  Kafir- 
corn  meal  or  corn  meal  is  mixed  with  soy  bean  meal  the 
results  are  highly  satisfactory." 

The  table  on  page  345  in  reference  to  these  two  Kansas 
experiments  is  taken  from  "Feeds  and  Feeding,"  and  the 
succeeding  paragraph  is  Professor  Henry's  comment. 


GRAINS    AND    GROUND    FEEDS 


345 


EXPERIMENTS  IN    FEEDING   KAFIR-CORN   MEAL   TO   PIGS 


Feed. 

Niimber 
on  trial. 

Average 
weight 
at  be- 
ginning. 

Daily 
gain 
per 

head. 

Grain 
eaten. 

Gain. 

Grain 

for 

100 

pound? 

gain 

First  trial: 

Kafir-corn  meal 

4 
•1 

3 
3 

3 

Pounds 
153 
152 

63 
04 

62 
62 

Pounds 
1.37 
1.70 

.SO 

.80 

1.44 
1.46 

Pounds 
2.180 
2,294 

1,188 
1,477 

2,166 
2,048 

Pounds 
423 
523 

191 
306 

547 
554 

Pounds 
515 
439 

Second  trial: 

Kafir-corn  meal 

621 
482 

jKafir-corn  meal..  .    ( 
i  Soy-bean  meal.  .  .   ) 

i  Corn  meal \ 

i  Soy-bean  meal.  . .   J 

396 
369 

"The  table  indicates  that  Kafir-corn  meal  falls  from  i8 
to  ;^^  per  cent  below  corn  meal  in  value  for  pig  feeding. 
This  grain,  though  rich  in  carbohydrates,  lacks  protein, 
and  is  therefore  not  suitable  for  feeding  alone  to  young 
pigs.  The  advantage  of  adding  some  substance  rich  in 
l)r()tein  to  the  ration  of  corn  or  Kafir-corn  is  shown  in 
the  last  trial,  where  the  soy  bean  meal  materially  in- 
creased the  daily  gain  of  the  pigs,  and  cut  down  the  re- 
quirements of  feed  for  too  pounds  of  gain  in  a  marked 
degree.  It  is  probable  that  if  Kafir-corn  were  boiled  it 
would  prove  more  satisfactory." 

Kafir-corn  alone  is  a  very  constipating  food  and  hogs 
tire  of  it  at  times,  especially  voung  ones.  However,  E. 
TT.  Lupton.  of  Sheridan  county.  Kansas,  who  raises  200 
to  500  hogs  annually,  tells  the  author  that  he  finds 
Kafir-corn  fed  dry  to  pigs  two  to  five  months  old  supe- 
rior to  Indian  corn,  and  that  if  necessary  he  would  pay 
a  premium  to  secure  the  Kafir-corn.  To  guard  against 
constipation,  using  the  Kafir-corn  with  some  other  food 


346  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

of  a  laxative  nature  is  recommended.     Soy  bean  meal 
is  excellent  for  this  purpose. 

OATS 

When  feeding  oats  ung-round  there  is  generally  the 
purpose  of  securing  exercise,  and,  in  that  event,  the  grain 
is  usually  scattered  on  a  clean  feeding  ground.  Oat? 
whole  will  give  less  satisfactory  returns  than  when 
ground  or  crushed.  In  an  experiment  reported  in  Bulle- 
tin No.  ;^;^  of  the  Central  experimental  farm  of  Canada, 
oats  and  corn  were  fed  in  comparison,  being  used  whole 
and  soaked  54  hours  before  feeding,  skim  milk  supple- 
menting both.  The  average  daily  gain  of  the  lot  fed  on 
oats  was  .87  pound,  and  of  the  corn-fed  lot,  1.30  pounds. 
In  commenting  upon  this  test  Rommel  says  in  "The  Hog- 
Industry  :"  "This  results  of  this  test  are  not  very  favor- 
able to  oats  as  a  pig  feed.  To  get  even  as  economical  a 
gain  as  could  be  had  from  corn,  a  feeder  would  have  to 
get  nearly  twice  as  good  gains  as  from  the  oats;  for. 
pound  for  pound  of  nutrient  material,  oats  is  about  twice 
as  expensive  as  corn." 

Experiments  with  ground  oats  have  produced  more 
favorable  results.  Professor  Henry  made  trials  of  whole 
and  ground  oats  at  the  Wisconsin  station,  concerning 
which  he  says  in  "Feeds  and  Feeding:"  "The  best  re- 
turns were  secured  when  feeding  a  ration  consisting  of 
one-third  ground  oats  and  two-thirds  corn  meal.  Whole 
oats  gave  poorer  returns  than  ground  oats.  The  feed  re- 
quirements for  100  pounds  of  gain  in  both  trials  where 
ground  oats  was  used  were  very  low,  and  show  the  high 
value  of  this  grain  for  pig  feeding  when  ground  and  fed 


GRAINS    AND    GROUND    FEEDS  34/ 

in  connection  with  corn  meal."  Supplementing  this, 
Professor  Henry  said  in  the  Breeder's  Gazette  in  1902: 
''Wheat  and  oats,  half  and  half,  probably  form  the  best 
combination  of  grains  that  one  can  get  for  the  growing 
pig.  For  very  young  pigs,  oat  hulls  are  objectionable 
and  should  be  removed  by  sieving.  All  waste  so  removed 
can  be  fed  to  other  stock,  and  so  nothing  will  be  lost. 
As  the  pigs  grow  larger,  their  digestive  tracts  become 
more  roomy  and  the  woody  matter  of  the  oat  hulls  less 
objectionable — indeed,  pigs  not  heavily  fed  should  have 
sometning  in  the  feed  to  extend  it  or  give  it  bulk,  and 
a  reasonable  quantity  of  oat  hulls  is  not  objectionable." 

RYE 

Rj^e  is  an  extremely  heavy,  concentrated  feed,  and  the 
grain  will  usually  give  best  results  when  not  fed  to  ex- 
ceed one-third  of  a  ration.  Rye  and  barley  are  con- 
sidered of  about  equal  value  in  feeding  for  pork.  In 
experiments  on  this  line  at  the  Copenhagen,  Denmark, 
station,  reported  in  "Feeds  and  Feeding,"  "the  average 
of  II  experiments  with  no  animals  shows  a  daily  gain 
of  .865  pound  for  barley-fed  pigs  and  .873  pound  for 
those  fed  rye."  The  carcasses  at  slaughtering  gave 
74.3  per  cent  dressed  weight  for  the  barley-fed  hogs  and 
y^  per  cent  dressed  weight  for  the  rye-fed  hogs. 

It  is  considered  best  to  feed  the  hogs  rye  in  ground 
form  and  in  rather  a  thin  slop,  and  some  feeders  main- 
tain that  rye  when  fed  dry  makes  a  sticky  mass  in  the 
hog's  throat  on  which  he  is  liable  to  choke. 

Rye  is  much  esteemed  in  many  sections  as  pasture, 
especially  where  the  soils  are  rather  light,  and  in  such  in- 


348  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

Stances  "hogging  off"  is  deemed  profitable.  Where  the 
growth  is  rank  or  the  weather  wet,  turning  the  brood 
sows  and  young  pigs  in  the  rye  field  ma)  cause  some 
losses  if  the  pigs  find  it  difficult  to  keep  up  with  their 
dams,  and  caution  should  be  observed  in  their  behalf. 
By  "hogging  off"  rye  on  clay  or  other  rather  poor  lands, 
the  double  advantage  is  obtained  of  feeding  the  hogs 
and  distributing  the  straw  and  manure  on  the  land  in  a 
way  that  is  very  excellent.  An  experience  of  a  Ross 
county,  Ohio,  farmer,  John  M.  Jamison,  with  rye  pasture 
was  given  in  the  Country  Gentleman  as  follows :  "As  a 
farm  crop  to  be  grown  and  harvested  as  wheat  is,  we  are 
not  much  in  favor  of  rye,  the  heavy  straw  being  so  dif- 
ficult to  handle,  and  when  we  have  a  crop  we  prefer  to 
let  the  hogs  gather  it.  Our  land  being  principally  heavy 
clay,  it  is  our  aim  to  add  all  the  humus  we  can  to  it,  and 
we  can  use  the  heavy  growth  of  rye  straw  to  great  ad- 
vantage for  this  purpose.  When  it  is  'hogged  down' 
it  is  left  on  the  ground,  evenly  distributed,  just  as  we 
want  it.  The  same  quantity  of  wheat  straw  would  often 
smother  the  young  clover  or  grasses  sown  in  the  rye, 
but  we  have  never  known  rye  to  do  so.  We  regard 
rye  as  the  best  of  small  grains  to  start  grass  crops  in, 
the  rye  not  having  as  dense  a  foliage  near  the  ground 
as  oats  and  wheat.  Rye,  when  fully  ripe,  will  straw- 
break  15  or  18  inches  above  the  ground,  the  heads 
lodging  on  the  bench  formed  by  this  breaking,  keep- 
ing them  off  the  ground  and  preventing  decay  of  the 
grain.  Again,  it  will  not  shatter  as  wheat  will,  nor 
does  it,  like  wheat,  decay  on  account  of  wet  weather. 
These   qualities   make   it   valuable   as   a   crop   to   'hog 


O  M 


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il 


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Pi  13 


GRAINS    AND    GROUND    FEEDS  349 

down.'  We  have  heard  of  but  one  instance  where  shotes 
turned  on  it  scoured.  In  this  case  the  rye  was  very  rank 
and  probably  frost-bitten;  however,  no  bad  resuhs  fol- 
lowed, and  the  shotes  soon  became  accustomed  to  it  by 
not  being  allowed  to  remain  on  it  too  long  at  first.  We 
would  have  no  fears  about  turning  on  to  green  rye  any 
time  during  the  fall,  winter  and  spring  that  there  is  suffi- 
cient growth  and  the  land  is  in  a  condition  not  to 
be  injured  by  trampling.  In  its  use  from  early  growth 
to  maturity,  it  is  our  impression  that  it  is  best  to  use  it 
for  pasture  from  the  time  that  it  will  furnish  a  good 
feed  on  till  it  begins  to  joint,  taking  the  stock  off  then 
and  allowing-  it  to  perfect  a  crop  of  seed  that  can  be  har- 
\ested  by  the  growing  hogs  preparatory  to  a  finish  of 
four  to  six  weeks  on  corn. 

''Some  farmers  regard  it  as  wasteful  practice  to 
gather  the  crop  in  this  way,  but  we  do  not  so  consider  it. 
If  harvested  and  profitably  fed  tc*  stock  of  any  kind, 
rye  must  be  ground.  If  fed  whole,  dry  or  soaked,  hogs 
will  not  masticate  it  properly  on  account  of  the  hardness 
before  soaking  and  its  tough  nature  after  soaking.  But 
when  feeding  in  the  field  they  must  also  consume  the 
chaff  and  stem  of  the  head,  which,  with  the  grass  they 
eat,  makes  digestion  almost  perfect.  We  have  recently 
noted  the  condition  of  the  droppings  from  our  pigs,  and 
we  have  seen  no  grains  voided  whole.  By  sowing  rye  and 
allowing  the  hogs  to  gather  it,  the  farmer  avoids  the 
hea\y  expense  attending  the  harvesting  of  a  crop  of 
wheat." 

According  to  the  Danish  experiments,  returns  from 
rye  shorts  are  very  unsatisfactory,  both  as  to  general 


350  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

results  and  in  the  quality  of  pork  produced.  Professor 
Henry  says  of  experiments  at  the  Copenhagen  station: 
"In  comparing  rye  and  barley  or  rye  alone  with  rye  shorts 
in  three  series  of  experiments,  the  grain  alone  always 
produced  better  results  than  equal  mixtures  of  grain  and 
rye  shorts,  and  these  mixtures  were  again  better  than  rye 
shorts  alone.  The  quality  of  the  pork  produced  where 
rye  shorts  was  fed  was  poor,  especially  where  all  rye 
shorts  was  given.  The  number  of  points  for  softness 
of  pork  increased  rapidly  with  the  feeding  of  rye  shorts, 
and  the  classification  of  the  carcass  showed  that  a  poor 
quality  of  pork  was  produced  when  this  feed  was  given." 
In  its  chemical  analysis,  rye  is  very  similar  to  barley, 
although  slightly  richer  in  protein.  Extensive  experi- 
ments in  Denmark  have  siiown  the  two  to  be  almost 
equal  in  value  for  swine.  But,  although  ground  rye  itself 
has  given  excellent  results  both  in  amount  of  gain  and  in 
the  quality  of  the  bacon,  the  by-products  of  rye  milling, 
viz.,  rye  bran  and  middlings,  were  found  very  preju- 
dicial to  the  quality  of  the  product. 

BARLEY 

The  favorable  status  of  barley  as  a  feed  for  pork 
production  is  well  established,  especially  in  the  making 
of  firm  bacon.  It  is  cultivated,  somewhat,  over  a  wide 
area,  and  in  many  sections  of  Canada,  for  example,  is 
regarded  as  essential  for  making  the  highest  quality 
of  pork,  if  firmness  and  flavor  are  considered  without 
regard  to  quantity  or  expense.  Where  corn  is  not  avail- 
able, barley  is  held  in  high  esteem,  and  in  corn  growing 


GRAINS    AND    GROUND    FEEDS  35 1 

territory,  when  low  enough  in  price,  barley  is  an  ex- 
tremely desirable  additional  feed.  In  the  amount  of  pork 
it  yields,  corn  is  superior  to  barley,  experiments  by  Pro- 
fessor Henry  showing  that  barley  is  about  8  per  cent  less 
valuable  than  corn,  measuring  by  pork  produced  and  not 
considering  cost.  While  not  equal  to  corn,  barley  fur- 
nishes more  protein  and  ash,  making-  an  excellent  feed 
for  building  up  the  pig's  structure.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
barley  is  of  such  importance  in  some  parts  of  America 
that  it  should  command  from  pork  makers  considerable 
more  attention  than  it  receives.  It  has  not  been  relied 
upon  to  a  great  extent  in  America  as  the  principal  part 
of  a  hog-growing  or  fattening  food,  but  the  practice  of 
Danish  farmers  and  the  results  of  experiments  can  very 
well  be  studied  with  profit  by  American  farmers.  The 
Danish  bacon,  which  figures  so  prominently  in  the  Eng- 
lish markets,  is  produced  mainly  with  barley  and  dairy 
by-products.  In  experiments  to  determine  the  nature  and 
causes  of  "soft"  bacon,  it  has  been  found  that  the  best 
bacon  was  produced  by  a  ration  in  which  barley  was  at 
least  one-third  of  the  whole. 

The  grains  of  barley  are  so  hard  that,  preferably,  it 
should  be  ground  or  rolled,  to  aid  digestion  and  save 
waste,  and  the  ground  feed  should  be  soaked  or  made 
into  slop.  Swine  require  more  water  when  fed  on  barley 
than  on  corn  or  corn  meal,  and  they  should  not  be  neg- 
lected in  this  regard.  Cooking  seems  to  lessen  rather 
than  increase  the  feeding  value  of  barley. 

Numerous  experiments  have  been  made  in  Canada  in 
feeding  barfey  to  hogs,  particularly  from  the  standpoint 
of  bacon  production.     The   following  paragraph   fron: 


352  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

Bulletin  No.  51,  of  the  Central  experimental  farm  of 
Canada,  "Bacon  Pigs  in  Canada,"  summarizes  the  main 
conclusions  reached:  "In  Europe  barley  is  looked  on  as 
the  ideal  feed  for  fattening  and  finishing  otT  bacon  hogs. 
In  Canada  most  experimental  work  goes  to  support  this 
view.  So  favorably  is  it  known,  in  fact,  that  it  has  prac- 
tically become  a  standard  by  which  other  foods  are 
judged,  so  far  as  their  value  for  bacon  production  is  con- 
cerned. It  should  be  used  ground.  Soaking  for  24 
hours  or  longer  before  feeding  will,  in  part,  make  up  for 
lack  of  grinding.  It  is  not  a  very  good  feed  for  suckling 
sows  nor  for  very  young  pigs.  It  may  be  fed  alone  to 
advantage,  but  will  gi\-e  somewhat  better  results  if 
ground  peas,  shorts  or  oil  meal  in  small  quantities  or 
well-ground  oats  be  added.  It  makes  a  prime  quality  of 
bacon  wherever  other  conditions  permit." 

In  the  same  bulletin  details  are  given  of  an  experiment 
made  with  two  grade  Berkshire  pigs,  which  were  fed  on 
barley,  beginning  about  January  i.  "The  barley  was 
given  three  times  a  day.  chopped  (coarsely  ground)  and 
mixed  with  water  at  the  time  of  feeding.  No  more  was 
given  than  would  be  eaten  up  clean  at  each  meal.  The 
results  shown  in  the  table  on  page  353  indicate  that  the 
barley  in  this  experiment  realized  in  pork  50  cents  per 
bushel ;  farmers  at  that  time  were  selling  the  same  grade 
of  barley  at  an  average  of  25  cents  per  bushel,  a  dififer- 
ence  of  100  per  cent  in  favor  of  feeding  it."  The  pigs 
were  purchased  and  sold  at  five  cents  a  pound,  live 
weight.  The  table  shows  that  it  took  an  average  of  four 
pounds  and  1 1  ounces  of  barley  in  the  four  months  of 
feeding  for  the  production  of  one  pound  of  pork. 


GRAIiXS    AND    CiRDlNlJ    KEEDS 


353 


TABLE    SHOWING    RESULTS    IX     I'ORK     PRODUCTION     FROM 
FEEDING  BARLEY  TO  TWO  BERKSHIRE   PIGS 


Amount 
of  barley 
consumed 

each 
month  by 
two  swine. 


Gain 

in  pounds 

of  pork 

each 

month. 


Return 

per 

bushel 

of  barley 

fed. 


Pounds 
of  barley 
consumed 

for  one 
pound 

of  pork. 


^yci«ht 
of  swine 
at  the 
end  of 
month. 


First  month. . 
Second  month 
Third  month., 
Fourth  month 


Poimds. 
288 
335 
370 
341 


Pounds. 
83 
71 
65 
62 


Cents. 
69 
50 
42 
43 


Lbs.  oz. 
3       7 

5     11 
5       8 


Pounds. 
200 
271 
336 
398 


In  Bulletin  No.  129  of  the  Ontario  agricultural  col- 
lege, entitled,  "Bacon  Production,"  similar  conclusions 
are  reached :  "Barley  is  a  noted  hog  food  in  Europe,  but 
some  feeders  in  this  country  do  not  look  upon  it  with 
fa\or.  W^e  have  secured  excellent  results  from  barley, 
however,  both  in  the  amount  of  gain  and  the  quality 
of  bacon.  For  young  pigs  it  should  be  mixed  with  wheat 
middlings,  a  very  little  barley  being  used  at  first,  and  the 
quantity  gradually  increased.  For  older  pigs,  peas  or 
wheat  may  be  added.  Some  succulent  food,  such  as  roots 
or  green  food,  should  always  be  fed  with  it,  and  skim 
milk  makes  a  great  improvement.  It  is  not  generally  re- 
garded with  favor  as  a  food  for  breeding  sows." 

Barley  will  generally  yield  the  most  satisfactory  gains 
when  used  as  a  portion  of  the  ration.  Used  with  roots 
it  tends  to  overcome  their  laxative  efifect,  and  excellent 
results  have  been  derived  from  this  combination.  Barley 
usually  flourishes  where  alfalfa  is  found  in  abundance, 
and  these  two  should  combine  admirably  with  other  good 
feeds  easily  raised  In  the  same  locality  for  making  first- 
class  pork.     Prof.  H.  M.  Cottrell  of  the  Colorado  agri- 


354 


SWl.NE   IX    AMERICA 


cultural  college  says  that  in  the  district  surrounding  that 
institution  (at  Fort  Collins)  the  average  yield  of  bar- 
ley in  1906  was  over  two  tons  (71  bushels)  to  the  acre, 
sufficient  to  produce  more  than  800  pounds  of  pork,  and 
that  in  many  of  their  alfalfa-growing  sections  where  ir- 
rigation is  practiced,  alfalfa  pasture  will  give  500  to 
1. 000  pounds  of  pork  per  acre  as  a  yearly  average. 
Where  these  conditions  exist  corn  is  not  ordinarily  a 


FIELD    PEA    AND    SOY    BEAN    PLANTS    AND    PODS 


staple  crop,  but  the  barley-and-alfalfa  combination  should 
make  weight  cheaply  and  give  a  high  grade  of  pork. 

Experiments  made  to  compare  barley  with  corn  have 
been  summarized  by  Rommel  in  Part  II  of  Bulletin  No. 
47,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry.  They  show  re- 
sults from  feeding  corn  and  barley,  both  whole  and 
ground ;  the  barley  in  a  majority  of  the  experiments 
cited  in  the  table  herewith  having  been  used  in  con- 
nection with  skim  milk : 


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35^  SWINE   IN    AxMERICA 

FIELD  PEAS 

The  field  or  Canadian  pea  is  extensively  grown  in 
Canada  (in  fact,  is  one  of  Ontario's  most  important  crops 
for  meat  making),  and  somewhat  along  the  northern 
rim  of  the  corn  belt,  and  in  the  mountain  states  to  the 
westward,  as  a  food  for  swine  and  other  stock,  where  it 
is  a  substitute  for  corn.  In  Colorado  there  is  much  en- 
thusiasm over  the  prospects  of  an  extensive  and  profit- 
able swine  husbandry  there,  made  possible  by  the  adapta- 
bility of  the  field  pea.  Used  with  judgment,  the  peas, 
with  their  abundant  protein,  supply  an  excellent  food  for 
swine  at  all  stages  of  development.  On  account  of  its 
sodden  character,  pea  meal  is  too  heavy  to  be  fed  as  the 
exclusive  grain  allowance,  and  Professor  Henry  says  it 
should  be  lightened,  by  mixing  with  wheat  bran,  ground 
oats  or  corn  meal.  Prof.  Thomas  Shaw,  who  knows 
them  well,  says  peas  are  superior  to  corn  as  a  food  for 
pigs  at  any  time  prior  to  the  fattening  season;  hence 
they  may  be  fed  to  swine  more  freely,  but  in  no  instance 
should  they  form  the  sole  ration  before  the  finishing 
period  begins.  "During  the  fattening  period  they  are 
unexcelled  when  fed  as  the  sole  grain  food.  They  pro- 
mote growth,  while  they  fatten  in  excellent  form,  and 
they  furnish  a  sweet,  firm  and  excellent  quality  of  pork. 
Grown  in  conjunction  with  some  other  kinds  of  grain, 
peas  are  of  great  value  as  a  soiling  crop,  owing  to  the 
larger  yields  obtained  (from  lo  to  20  tons  per  acre  may 
be  expected  on  average  soils)  ;  to  the  high  nutritive  value 
of  the  food,  combined  with  its  palatability  and  because  of 
its  timeliness.     This  crop  is  ready  as  soon  as  the  spring 


GRAINS    AXD    GROUND    FEEDS  357 

grasses  begin  to  fail,  and  it  may  be  made  to  continue 
in  season  until  corn  is  ready." 

J.  H.  Grisdale,  of  the  Central  experimental  farm  of 
Canada,  says  peas  are  "undoubtedly  of  very  high  value 
as  a  feed  for  the  production  of  good,  firm  bacon,  and 
for  young  pigs  and  j^reeding  stock  of  all  classes  at  prac- 
tically all  times.  They  should,  however,  never  be  fed 
alone,  and  should  always  be  ground.  Pigs  fed  on  pea 
meal  alone  do  not  thrive,  do  not  get  fat,  and  produce  a 
very  inferior  quality  of  meat,  dry  and  hard." 

Pea  feeds,  under  various  names,  are  by-products  of 
prepared-food  factories,  and  vary  in  composition.  Some 
of  them  are  equal  to  pea  meal  in  feeding  value,  while 
others  are  of  little  account. 

SOY    BEANS 

Soy  beans  are  not  commonly  used  in  pork  production, 
doubtless  owing  to  lack  of  knowledge  of  their  character- 
istics and  \-alue.  While  they  ha\e  been  grown  to  some 
extent  for  several  years,  only  recently  has  their  value 
to  pork  makers  been  understood.  At  least  four  experi- 
ment stations  have  made  tests  with  soy  beans  for  hogs. 
All  report  fa\orably.  The  trials  at  the  Indiana  station, 
taken  with  the  results  of  other  experiments,  are  con- 
vincing arguments  as  to  the  efficiency  of  the  seeds  of 
this  legume  when  fed  with  corn  to  swine.  Soy  beans 
contain  29.6  pounds  of  digestible  protein  to  the  100 
pounds  of  beans,  and  pigs  fed  on  tliem  grow  rapidly. 

At  the  Indiana  station.  J.  H.  Skinner  made  experi- 
ments r Bulletin  No.  io8).  with  four  lots  of  four  pigs 
each,  averaging  55^^  pounds,  covering   12  weeks,  fed 


350  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

meals  wet  with  water  to  a  medium  thick  slop;  first,  to 
determine  the  value  of  soy  beans  as  a  supplement  to  corn 
in  pork  production  and  to  encourage  farmers  to  grow 
their  own  protein  for  hogs;  second,  to  compare  soy 
beans  with  wheat  middlings  and  tankage  as  supplements 
to  corn,  and  add  new  data  to  previous  experiments  with 
these  feeds ;  third,  to  emphasize  the  deficiency  of  corn 
as  a  sole  ration  for  pork  production  and  point  out  more 
economical  methods  of  feeding  and  utilizing  corn. 

The  test  showed  that  it  required  less  feed  per  loo 
pounds  gain  where  soy  beans  were  fed  than  in  any  other 
ration  considered,  while  in  this  lot  the  gains,  402  pounds, 
were  120  per  cent  greater  than  the  gain  in  the  corn-fed 
lot  and  10  per  cent  more  than  the  gain  in  any  other  lot 
in  the  test.  The  pigs  fed  more  uniformly  and  developed 
more  evenly  than  any  one  of  the  other  lots.  The  Kansas 
station  reports  uniformly  successful  results  from  the  use 
of  soy  beans  in  connection  with  Kafir-corn  and  Indian 
corn.  A  resume  of  the  results  there  shows  a  gain, 
where  pigs  received  soy  beans  as  a  supplement,  varying 
from  14.6  to  181. 7  per  cent  over  corresponding  lots  fed 
corn  or  Kafir-corn  alone. 

"Indiana  swine  growers,"  says  Professor  Skinner, 
"would  do  well  to  investigate  the  merits  of  soy  beans. 
They  can  be  easily  grown  and  will  furnish  a  home-grown 
supply  of  protein  in  a  very  desirable  form.  Farmers  will 
find  them  to  be  a  very  valuable  adjunct  to  corn  as  shown 
by  results.  A  yield  of  20  bushels  per  acre  means  ap- 
proximately 360  pounds  of  digestible  protein,  while  20 
bushels  of  wheat  per  acre  would  yield  120  pounds  of 
digestible  protein.     Another  point  in  favor  of  soy  beans 


Front   of  the   Kansas-Bred  Berkshire  Boar. 
Field    Marslial    103300 

The    Berkshire    bleeder's    ideal 


Front  of  tlie  Kansas-Bred  Berkshire  Boar, 
Berryton   Duke,  Jr.,   77341 

Considered    near   perfection 


GKAINS    Ai\l)    GKOL'NI)    FliEDS  359 

is  the  power  which  the  growing  plant  possesses  of  obtain- 
ing nitrogen  from  the  air.  They  make  first-class  forage 
if  harvested  at  the  proper  time;  they  are  easily  grown, 
are  productive,  bring  nitrogen  to  the  soil,  withstand 
drouth  well,  are  rich  in  protein  and  fat,  and  furnish  an 
el^icient  food  to  combine  with  corn  in  pork  production." 
Among  the  general  conclusions  presented  by  Professor 
Skinner  are  these : 

1.  Soy  beans  proved  to  be  a  very  valuable  adjunct 
to  corn,  jjeing  the  most  efficient  feed  tested. 

2.  Pigs  fed  a  ration  of  one  part  soy  beans  to  two 
parts  of  corn  produced  two  and  one-fifth  times  as  much 
gain  in  tiie  same  length  of  time  as  did  those  receiving- 
corn  only. 

3.  It  required  310.6  pounds  of  feed  per  100  pounds 
of  gain  where  one-third  of  the  ration  was  soy  beans, 
while  it  took  557.1  pounds  per  100  pounds  gain  where 
corn  alone  was  fed. 

4.  Comparing  the  soy  bean  ration  with  the  middlings 
and  tankage  rations,  the  amount  of  feed  required  per  100 
pounds  gain  stands:  Soy  beans  and  corn,  310.6;  mid- 
dlings and  corn,  343.4;  tankage  and  corn,  330.6  pounds. 

5.  Corn  meal  alone  was  shown  to  be  very  inefficient 
as  a  pork  producer. 

6.  The  pigs  receiving  a  ration  of  one-third  soy  bean 
meal  and  two-thirds  corn  meal  produced  402  pounds 
gain.  A  ration  of  one-half  middlings  and  one-half  corn 
meal  produced  365  pounds  gain.  One-sixth  tankage  and 
five-sixths  corn  meal  produced  348.5  pounds  gain,  while 
a  ration  of  corn  meal  alone  produced  only  183  pounds 
gain.     Stated  in  another  way,  corn  meal  alone  produced 


360  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

less  than  one-half  the  gain  made  by  a  ration  of  one-third 
soy  beans  and  two-thirds  corn,  one-half  as  much  as  mid- 
dlings and  corn,  and  but  little  more  than  one-half  as 
much  as  tankage  and  corn. 

7.  Corn  meal  alone  impaired  the  digestive  capacity 
of  the  pigs  as  shown  by  the  feed  consumed,  which  was 
320  pounds  less  than  any  other  lot  consumed. 

8.  The  longer  the  pigs  were  fed  on  corn  alone  the 
more  inefficient  it  became,  requiring'  12 19  pounds  feed 
per  100  pounds  of  gain  during  the  last  week  of  the  test 
against  500  pounds  the  first  week,  and  an  average  of 
557  pounds. 

9.  Corn  meal  alone  produced  poor  appetites,  light 
bone,  deficient  development  in  valuable  portions  of  the 
carcass,  and  a  general  state  of  unthrift  as  shown  by  the 
hair,  skin  and  hungry  look  of  the  animals. 

10.  The  gains  on  pigs  fed  under  the  conditions  of 
this  test  cost  $5.01  per  ioo  pounds  where  corn  meal 
alone  was  used,  $3.44  with  one-half  corn  meal  and  one- 
half  middlings,  $3.59  in  the  lot  receiving  two-thirds 
corn  meal  and  one-third  soy  bean  meal,  and  $3.71  where 
five-sixths  corn  and  one-sixth  digester  tankage  was  fed. 

In  Indiana  Bulletin  No.  126  Skinner  records  a  test  in 
which  two  lots  of  four  84-pound  pigs  were  fed  70 
days — one  lot  on  five  parts  corn  meal  and  one  part  lin- 
seed meal  and  the  other  lot  on  five  parts  corn  meal  and 
one  part  soy  bean  meal.  The  cost  of  the  feed  was  fig- 
ured at  $18  per  ton  for  corn  meal  and  $30  per  ton  for 
the  linseed  and  soy  bean  meal.  The  cost  of  100  pounds 
of  gain  on  the  linseed  meal  lot  was  $3.82,  and  on  the  soy 


GRAINS    AND    GROUND    FEEDS  361 

bean  lot  $3.46,  a  showing  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  lat- 
ter. The  percentage  of  protein  in  the  two  meals  is 
practically  the  same. 

Three  different  trials  were  made  at  the  Wisconsin  sta- 
tion (Annnal  Report.  1906)  to  compare  the  value  of 
soy  bean  meal  and  wheat  middlings  as  a  supplement  to 
corn  for  growing  and  fattening  swine.  A  summary  of 
the  conclusions  to  which  these  tests  led,  as  given  by  Pro- 
fessors George  C.  Humphrey  and  J.  G.  Fuller,  is : 

1.  Soy  bean  meal  makes  an  excellent  supplement  to 
corn  meal  for  growing  and  fattening  pigs. 

2.  Soy  bean  meal  is  from  8  to  10  per  cent  more 
valuable  than  wheat  middlings  for  economical  pork  pro- 
duction when  the  cost  of  the  two  feeds  is  the  same. 

3.  Soy  bean  meal  mixed  with  corn  meal  in  the  pro- 
portion of  I  :2  produces  greater  gains  than  wheat  mid- 
dlings and  corn  meal  in  the  same  proportion. 

4.  In  feeding  equal  amounts  of  the  two  rations,  soy 
beans  and  corn  meal  supply  a  slightly  higher  per  cent 
of  dry  matter  and  digestible  matter  than  wheat  middlings 
and  corn  meal. 

5.  For  firmness,  fine  grain  and  texture  of  flesh,  and 
even  distribution  of  fat  and  lean,  the  ration  of  wheat 
middlings  and  corn  meal  is  superior  to  that  of  soy  beans 
and  corn  meal. 

As  to  the  flesh  of  the  test  hogs  when  dressed,  the  re- 
port gives  these  observations:  "The  fir.st  difference  noted 
in  handling  the  carcasses  was  the  soft  and  flabby  condi- 
tion of  the  lot  fed  corn  meal  and  soy  bean  meal,  and  the 
firmness  of  flesh  of  the  lot  fed  corn  meal  and  wheat  mid- 
dlings. 


362  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

"The  amount  of  meat  in  the  carcasses  of  the  lot  fed 
corn  meal  and  soy  bean  meal  did  not  appear  to  be  much 
greater,  if  any,  than  that  in  the  carcasses  of  the  lot  fed 
corn  meal  and  wheat  middlings.  The  muscular  flesh  of 
the  latter,  liowever.  was  of  a  bright  cherry  red,  with  a 
hne  grain,  which,  together  with  its  firmness  and  nicely 
marbled  condition,  made  it  a  better  quality  of  pork  for 
the  block.  The  flesh  of  the  former  lot  was  pale  red. 
and  the  fat  was  not  so  well  mingled  with  the  lean,  but 
seemed  to  be  deposited  beneath  the  skin  in  a  superficial 
manner.  From  all  that  could  be  judged  from  viewing 
the  cuts  with  the  naked  eye,  the  ration  of  corn  meal  and 
wheat  middlings  was  superior  to  that  of  corn  meal  and 
soy  bean  meal  for  producing  a  good  quality  of  pork." 
EMMER  AND  SPELTZ 

Emmer,  sometimes  miscalled  spelt  or  speltz.  is  a  drouth 
and  cold-resisting  variety  of  wheat  from  Russia,  raised 
to  a  limited  extent  for  stock  food  in  the  Dakotas  and 
other  northwestern  states.  Recorded  tests  of  its  value 
for  swine  are  few.  The  South  Dakota  station  (Bulletin 
No.  100)  fed  different  lots  of  250-pound  hogs  44  days 
on  whole  "speltz."  ground  "speltz."  and  "speltz"  and 
corn.  The  feed  consumed  to  make  each  pound  of  gain 
was  for  the  lots  as  named.  7.71,  8.26  and  5.29  pounds, 
respectively.  The  cost  per  pound  of  gain  in  each  lot  as 
named  was  4.6,  5.5  and  3.5  cents,  respectively.  It  is 
seen  that  when  the  grain  was  groimd.  the  consumption 
was  not  only  greater,  but  it  required  .55  of  a  pound  more 
grain  to  make  a  pound  of  gain.  At  the  same  station  the 
gain  on  hogs  following  fattening  steers  fed  on  "speltz" 
as  their  grain  ration  was  small. 


GRAINS    AND    GROUND    FEEDS 


3C^3> 


BUCKWHEAT 

Buckwheat,  in  most  localities,  usually  commands  a 
price  which  makes  it  less  profitable  as  a  swine  feed  than 
other  grains,  but  when  it  may  be  used  advantageously 
it  is  found  to  ha\-e  considerable  value,  although  some- 
what less  than  wheat.  Buckwheat  has  been  fed  exten- 
sively in  some  sections  of  the  north,  especially  Canada. 
The  middlings  from  buckwheat,  when  obtainable,  makes 
an  excellent  feed,  but  the  bran  is  of  little  value. 

Comparative  feeding  tests  made  at  the  Ottawa  experi- 
ment station  (annual  reports  of  1894  and  1895),  in  the 
feeding  of  buckwheat  and  wheat,  ground  and  in  mix- 
tures, showed  that  six  pounds  more  were  needed  in  the 
buckwheat  mixture  than  in  the  wheat  mixture  for  pro- 
ducing 100  pounds  of  gain.  In  the  first  trial  detailed  in 
the  following  table,  five  pigs  in  each  lot  were  fed  yy 
days.  A  second  trial  lasted  140  days,  and  was  made 
with  six  pigs  in  each  lot.  The  meal  was  soaked  for  30 
hours  before  using  in  every  instance.  The  details  of  the 
two  trials  were  as  shown : 


COMPARATIVE     FEEDING     VALUES     OF     BUCKWHEAT     AND 
WHEAT 


Kind  of  Feed. 

Average 
weight 
at  be- 
ginning. 

Feed 
eaten. 

Gain. 

Feed 
for  100 
IMiunds 

gain. 

First  trial : 

Pounds 
103 
97 

45 
49 

Pounds 
2,109 
1,272 

3,238 
2,463 

Poun.ls 
474 
310 

800 
649 

Pounds 
445 

410 

Second  trial: 

One-half   ground   buckwheat;   one-half  a 
mixture  i.f  barley,  rye,  wheat,  and 

405 

One-half  ground  wheat ;  one-half  a  mixture 
of  barley,  rye,  wheat,  and  wheat  bran. . 

380 

364  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

Mn^LET  SEED 

Prof.  James  W.  Wilson,  at  the  South  Dakota  station 
(Bulletin  No.  83),  made  tests  extending  through  84  days 
with  six  Yorkshire  pigs  divided  into  three  lots,  to  ascer- 
tain the  feeding  value  of  millet  seed  as  a  swine  food  in 
comparison  with  wheat  and  barley.  All  three  grains  were 
ground  before  feeding.  The  results  justified  the  con- 
clusion that  millet  seed  does  not  furnish  as  good  a  ration 
for  swine  as  either  barley  or  wheat ;  it  required  20  per 
cent  more  millet  than  it  did  barley,  and  a  trifle  more 
barley  than  it  did  wheat  to  make  a  pound  of  gain;  a 
bushel,  or  56  pounds,  of  millet  seed  is  equal  for  hog-feed 
to  48  pounds  of  barley ;  it  is  not  so  good  a  fattening  feed 
in  extremely  cold  weather  as  barley  or  wheat  meal,  and 
it  produces  a  softer  quality  of  fat  than  barley  or  wheat. 

The  color  of  the  lean  meat  in  the  millet  and  wheat 
lots  was  lighter  than  that  of  the  barley  lot.  "The  fat 
on  the  wheat  and  barley  carcasses  was  several  shades 
darker  than  the  fat  made  from  millet ;  in  fact,  it  had  a 
yellow  tinge  not  noticeable  in  the  millet  lot,  while  the 
color  of  the  fat  on  the  carcasses  that  had  been  fed  millet 
was  pure  white,  and  was  pronounced  by  the  local  butcher 
as  being  of  superior  quality  to  that  of  the  other  carcasses, 
although  not  so  firm  in  texture." 

"On  account  of  being  so  well  adapted  to  the  conditions 
there,"  says  Professor  Wilson,  "and  so  palatable  a  feed, 
millet  should  have  a  place  in  the  rotation  of  crops  on 
every  stock  farm  in  South  Dakota." 

ADUIiTE  RATED  GROUND  FEEDS 

The  temptation  to  meet  the  demand  for  a  low-priced 
feed  by  utilizing  by-products  has  not  infrequently  led 


GRAINS  AXI)  GROUND  FEEDS   •        365 

to  the  mixing-  of  hulls  or  sweepings  with  what  would 
otherwise  he  a  meritorious  article.  It  should  be  re- 
membered that  the  experiments  with  shorts  or  other 
ground  feed  or  by-products  ha\e  been  with  a  product  of 
good  grade,  and  not  one  that  has  been  used  as  a  medium 
for  working  off  otherwise  unsalable  material.  Mid- 
dlings, for  example,  has  sometimes  been  found  to  con- 
tain sweepings  and  bran  reground.  As  a  rule,  feed  of 
this  character  is  not  economical. 

BURNT  OR  FROSTED  GRAINS 

Occasionally,  when  a  large  elevator  burns  in  which 
much  grain  is  stored,  the  damaged  contents  are  thrown 
on  the  market  at  a  low  price  for  hog-feed.  Instances 
have  been  reported  where  wheat  damaged  in  this  way 
has  been  fed  satisfactorily  to  hogs  after  it  was  re- 
covered from  a  burned  elevator,  and,  so  far  as  the  author 
has  been  able  to  discover,  no  reports  have  been  made 
of  injurious  results  from  its  use.  It  is  not  safe,  how- 
ever, to  conclude  that  such  feed  may  always  be  used 
with  impunity.  While  the  nominal  price  at  which  grain 
n:ay  usually  be  secured  following  a  fire  may  make  the 
opportunity  seem  attractive,  it  is  well  to  use  caution.  A 
fair  trial  will  sometimes  determine  whether  the  damaged 
urain  may  be  safely  used,  and  ordinarily  a  sample  may 
be  sent  to  the  director  of  the  nearest  experiment  station 
and  his  counsel  obtained  as  to  the  advisability  of  its  use. 

Grain  injured  by  frost  while  yet  immature,  or  known 
in  Canada  as  "frozen  wheat,"  has  been  fed  without  ap- 
parent ill  results.  Bulletin  No.  51  of  the  Central  ex- 
perimental   farm   of    Canada,   gives   the    following   ex- 


366  •  SWINE  IX   AMERICA 

perience :  "Some  years  ago  frozen  wheat  was  available 
in  considerable  quantities  and  was  quite  extensively  used 
as  feed.  It  was  found  to  be  very  valuable  for  bacon  pro- 
duction. The  meat  was  of  good  quality  and  was  pro- 
duced at  the  rate  of  one  pound,  live  weight,  from  four 
and  one-half  to  five  and  one-half  pounds  of  the  frozen 
wheat."  The  details  of  the  experiments  are  tabulated  in 
Bulletin  No.  t,^  of  the  Central  experimental  farm. 

The  North  Dakota  station  (Bulletin  84)  found  that  in 
comparison  with  corn  it  requires  8.9  per  cent  more  "re- 
jected" wheat  than  corn  to  produce  the  same  gains. 

Damaged  grain  may  often  have  but  little  market  value, 
thereby  offering  the  swine-feeder  a  serviceable  feed  at  a 
low  price ;  but  local  conditions  will  have  much  to  do 
with  determining  whether  or  not  it  is  advisable  to  utilize 
material  of  this  sort. 

FLOUR  AS  A  FEED 

Low-grade  flour  may  sometimes  be  available  for  feed- 
ing, although,  as  a  rule,  inferior  grades  of  by-products 
will  be  obtainable  at  comparatively  lower  prices.  Pro- 
fessor Henry  shows,  in  "Feeds  and  Feeding,"  that  the 
nutrients  in  low-grade  flour  vary  but  little  from  those  in 
flour  of  higher  grade.  This  low  grade  of  flour  is  occa- 
sionally designated  as  "feeding  flour,"  "red  dog,"  and  by 
other  special  names. 

The  Virginia  experiment  station  (Bulletin  No.  167) 
reports  profitable  results  from  feeding  red  dog  with  corn 
meal.  The  method  of  feeding  is  described  as  follows : 
"In  the  test  where  red  dog,  which  is  a  low-grade  flour 
relatively  rich  in  protein,  was  combined  with  an  e(]^ual 


GRAINS    AND    GROLNU    FEEDS  36/ 

amount  of  corn  meal  and  fed  wet,  a  gain  of  .89  of  a 
pound  per  head  per  day  was  obtained  with  seven  months 
animals.  When  this  same  food  was  soaked  12  hours  the 
gain  was  at  the  rate  of  1.28  pounds  per  head  per  day, 
which  showed  a  marked  advantage  in  favor  of  the 
soaked  food.  Where  red  dog  was  used,  unsoaked,  the 
amount  of  food  consumed  per  head  per  day  varied  from 
4.3  to  4.9  pounds.  The  cost  of  a  pound  of  gain  where 
red  dog  and  corn  meal  were  soaked,  was  4.34  cents; 
when  unsoaked,  5.42  cents."  Nineteen  pigs  were  used 
in  each  of  the  two  groups,  and  the  cost  of  red  dog  was 
figured  at  $27.50  a  ton. 

"STOCK  FOODS" 

In  view  of  the  many  condimental,  proprietary,  or 
patented  "stock  foods"  everywhere  on  sale,  and  the  won- 
derful claims  advertised  by  their  manufacturers  as  to  the 
worth  and  importance  of  their  goods  to  stockmen,  Prof. 
F.  W.  W'oll,  chemist  of  the  Wisconsin  experiment  station 
(Bulletin  No.  151),  made  a  series  of  investigations  to 
learn  the  ingredients,  effects  and  probable  original  cost 
if  a  large  number  of  the  "foods"  kept  most  prominently 
before  the  public.  Their  ingredients  were  found  to  be 
mainly,  in  greater  or  less  proportions,  wheat  and  corn 
offal,  bean  or  pea  hulls,  corn  meal,  oil  meal,  mustard 
iuills.  common  salt,  epsom  salt,  glauber  salt,  charcoal,  sul- 
phur, pepper,  fenugreek,  saltpeter  and  lime.  The  average 
cost  of  the  drugs  entering  into  the  compounding  of  the 
■'foods"  is  apparently  not  above  ten  cents  per  pound,  and 
the  price  at  which  the  foods  are  sold  to  farmers  ranges  as 


A  Berkshire   Sow,  as  Portrayed  in   1870 


A    Poland-China     Boar,     as     Portrayed     in     1870 


GRAINS    Ai\D    GROLNJJ    FEEDS 


o"9 


hig-h  as  25  cents  per  half  pDund,  or  at  the  rate  of  $1,000 
per  ton.  Professor  Woll's  summing  up  of  the  patent 
stock  food  situation  is  this : 

"The  evidence  at  hand  goes  to  show  that  there  is  a 
practical  unanimity  of  opinion  among  scientific  men  in 
public  positions  who  have  given  the  subject  special  study 
in  regard  to  se\-eral  points  connected  with  condimental 
stock  foods : 

"First,  they  are  of  no  benefit  to  liealthy  animals  when 
led  as  directed,  either  as  to  increasing  the  digestibility 
of  the  feed  eaten  or  rendering  it  more  effective  for  the 
production  of  meat,  milk,  wool,  etc. 

"Second,  they  are  of  no  benefit  as  a  cure-all  for  dis- 
eases of  the  various  classes  of  live  stock ;  neither  do  they 
possess  any  particular  merit  in  cases  of  specific  diseases, 
or  for  animals  out  of  condition,  otT  feed,  etc.,  since  only 
a  small  proportion  of  ingredients  having  medicinal  value 
is  found  therein,  the  bulk  of  the  foods  consisting  of  a 
liller  which  possesses  no  medicinal  properties  whatever. 

"Third,  exorbitant  prices  are  charged  for  these  foods, 
as  is  natural,  considering  the  extensive  advertising  the 
manufacturers  are  doing,  and  the  liberal  commissions 
which  they  pay  agents  and  dealers.  The  large  sales  of 
stock  foods  are  doubtless  mainly  to  be  attributed  to  these 
facts. 

"l'\)urth.  by  adopting  a  lil)eral  .system  of  feeding  farm 
animals  and  furnishing  a  variety  of  feeds,  good  results 
may  be  obtained  without  resorting  to  stock  foods  of  any 
kind.  If  a  farmer  believes  it  is  necessary  to  feed  stock 
foods  at  times,  he  can  purchase  the  ingredients  at  a  drug 


370 


SWINE    IN    AMERICA 


Store  and  make  his  own  stock  foods  at  a  fraction  of  tht 
prices  charged  for  them  by  the  manufacturers.  He  will 
then  have  the  additional  satisfaction  of  knowing-  just 
what  he  is  feeding,  and  of  feeding  a  concentrated  'food' 
instead  of  one  largely  diluted  with  non-medicinal  ingre- 
dients." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Feeding  By-Products 

Besides  the  milling  products,  already  discussed,  there 
are  other  commercial  by-products  of  more  or  less  im- 
portance and  value.  As  most  of  these  are  concentrates, 
tiiey  are  used  as  suj^plements  to  the  main  feeds,  partic- 
ularly corn,  and  in  recent  years  several  such  have  fully 
demonstrated  that  they  are  of  worth,  although  formerly 
their  constituents  were  not  regarded  as  feeding  material 
or  practically  of  much  value.  The  mills  and  packing 
houses  have  recognized  in  the  hog's  ability  to  make  pork 
from  waste  and  offal  an  opportunity  to  turn  into  money 
much  that  might  otherwise  be  of  little  worth. 

The  main  by-products  from  grains  liave  been  treated 
in  Chapter  XIV,  and  those  coming  from  the  dairy  are 
discussed  in  Chapter  XVII,  so  that,  with  a  few  excep- 
tions, this  chapter  is  given  over  to  those  from  the  oil 
mills,  packing  houses,  sugar  factories  and  breweries. 
Alost  of  these  have  not  had  as  long  trials  as  tlic  products 
of  the  flouring  mills,  but  the  volume  of  tlie  latter  pre- 
viously available  for  swine  has  been  lessened  \)y  the  in- 
genuity displayed  in  the  manufacture  of  foods  and  ma- 
terials for  consumption  through  other  channels 

GLUTEN  FEED 

Gluten  meal  and  gluten  feed  are  accredited  as  in- 
ferior to  corn  meal,  using  skim  milk  as  a  feeding  base, 

371 


"^^2  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

but  as  somewhat  superior  to  wheat  meal.  Gluten  meal 
has  neither  the  germ  nor  the  hull  portions  of  corn;  it  is 
the  protein  section  of  the  grain,  and  contains  more  pro- 
tein and  fat  than  any  other  corn  product,  but  is  very  low 
in  mineral  matter.  Corn  bran  and  gluten  meal  mixed 
and  ground  constitute  gluten  feed,  which  is  rich  in  pro- 
tein, but  possesses  more  bulk  than  the  gluten  meal.  Corn 
bran  is  the  hulls  of  the  corn  grain,  and,  by  itself,  has 
little  feeding  value.  Gluten  meal  is  a  very  concentrated 
feed,  not  economically  fed  alone,  and  should  form  but 
part  of  a  ration.  It  may  be  mixed  with  corn  or  corn  meal 
for  fattening,  and,  for  growing  hogs  and  brood  sows, 
with  some  feed  that  will  supply  bulk,  and  should  be 
soaked  before  using.  Gluten  feed  may  be  used  without 
other  mixture  as  a  growing  food,  but  if  given  to  fatten- 
ing hogs,  it  should  go  with  corn  meal  or  other  feed. 

The  Cornell  University  experiment  station  used  gluten 
meal  in  comparison  with  corn  meal,  both  with  separator 
skim  milk,  on  four  lots  of  four  pigs  each,  beginning 
in  February.  The  following  results  were  printed  (Bulle- 
tin No.  199)  :  "The  object  of  the  experiment  was  to  de- 
termine the  relative  value  of  corn  meal  and  gluten  meal 
when  fed  along  with  separator  skim  milk.  The  pigs 
were  so  divided  that  two  lots  should  contain  the  large 
pigs  for  comparison,  and  two  lots  the  small  pigs,  so  that 
the  large  ones  should  be  compared  with  each  other  and 
the  small  ones  with  each  other.  In  arranging  the  ra- 
tions for  the  various  lots  those  fed  gluten  meal  were 
put  upon  a  relatively  narrow  ration  and  those  fed  corn 
upon  a  ration  Avhich  was  very  close  to  the  theoretical 
standard.    In  both  cases  where  corn  meal  was  used  with 


FEEDING    BV-l'RODUCTS  2>7ci 

the  milk  the  cost  per  pound  of  gain  was  less  than  where 
gluten  meal  was  used.  The  actual  amount  of  dry  matter 
consumed  per  pound  of  gain  was  less  where  corn  meal 
was  fed  than  where  gluten  meal  was  fed.  These  re- 
sults, secured  when  corn  meal  was  worth  $14  per  ton  and 
gluten  meal  only  $11.75  P^^"  ton,  point  very  strongly 
to  the  conclusion  that  in  feeding  large  quantities  of 
separator  skim  milk  to  young,  growing  pigs,  more  eco- 
nomical gains  can  be  made  by  using  as  a  grain  ration 
corn  meal  rather  than  gluten  meal."  Further  experi- 
ments at  the  Cornell  station  (Bulletin  No.  220)  showed 
better  results  from  corn  meal  and  gluten  feed  mixed 
than  from  clear  corn  meal,  both  with  skim  milk. 

Corn  and  gluten  meal,  as  compared  with  wheat  meal, 
entered  into  experiments  with  two  lots  of  six  pigs  each 
at  the  same  station  (Report  of  1894)  in  which,  to  make 
100  pounds  of  gain.  292  pounds  of  wheat  meal  and  682 
pounds  of  skim  milk  were  required  as  against  zyz  pounds 
of  corn  meal  and  gluten  meal  with  621  pounds  of  skim 
milk.  This  would  give  the  latter  combination  an  ad- 
\-antage  of  a  little  more  than  6  per  cent  over  the  wheat 
meal. 

Experiments  there  have  not  led  to  gluten  meal's  having 
great  favor  in  Canada,  the  judgment  being  that  "it  seems 
rather  unpalatable  and  produces  soft  bacon"  (Bulletin 
No.  51,  Central  experimental  farm,  Ottawa). 

HOMINY  CHOPS 

Hominy  meal  and  hominy  chops  have  been  utilized  to 
good  advantage,  but  most  feeds  of  this  character  have 


374  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

been  marketed  with  trade  names,  tending  to  give  experi- 
ments with  them  more  or  less  of  an  advertising  nature. 

OIL  MEALS 

The  residues  from  oil-bearing  seeds,  mainly  the  meal 
from  flaxseed  and  cottonseed  cake  after  extracting 
the  oil.  are  sometimes  used  for  making  up  swine  rations. 
The  value  of  tlie  cottonseed  product  is  much  disputed, 
but  that  from  flaxseed  is  used  with  good  results.  It  is 
known  as  linseed-oil  meal,  "old  process,"  and  "new  proc- 
ess," the  "new"  dift'ering  from  the  "old"  in  that  chemi- 
cal process  instead  of  pressure  has  been  used  to  extract 
the  oil.  The  linseed-oil  cake  (afterward  ground  to 
make  the  meal)  is  produced  by  the  old  process.  The  dry 
matter  in  linseed-oil  meal  is  about  the  same  with  either 
process,  practically  90  per  cent ;  the  protein  averages 
about  28  per  cent,  but  the  carbohydrates  are  usually 
greater  in  the  new  process  meal.  Unground  flaxseed 
itself  is  not  used  as  feed. 

Linseed-oil  meal  is  a  supplemental  feed,  and  aids  by 
assisting  digestion  and  improving  the  conditions  and  ap- 
pearance of  the  animal  receiving  it.  Its  effect  is  espe- 
cially noticeable  in  sleek  and  smooth  skin  and  hair.  It 
makes  an  excellent  supplement  to  corn  by  reason  of  its 
stimulating  and  laxative  tendency. 

As  a  rule,  it  should  be  used  in  rather  restricted  quan- 
tity, some  breeders  maintaining  that  an  overfeeding  of 
linseed-oil  meal  to  sows  in  pig  will  cause  abortion.  Used 
with  discretion,  however,  it  has  much  value.  "Many  a 
brood   sow   and    litter,    lost    from    feeding   overheating 


FEEDING    liV-PRODUCTS  375 

foods,"  says  Prof.  Thomas  Shaw,  "could  have  been 
saved  by  adding  to  the  ration  one-fourth  pound  of  oil 
cake  per  da}-  for  some  time  before  and  after  parturition. 
It  is  helpful  to  young  pigs  after  they  have  been  weaned, 
and  when  they  are  upon  a  diet  of  constipating-  tendencies, 
such  as  skim  milk." 

Experiments  in  feeding  linseed-oil  meal  to  swine  were 
conducted  at  different  times  in  a  period  of  two  years 
ending  in  the  winter  of  1905-06  at  the  Missouri  sta- 
tion (Bulletins  Nos.  65  and  67),  which  show  linseed-oil 
meal  more  \-aluable  than  wheat  middlings  as  a  supple- 
ment to  corn.  The  experiments  were  in  charge  of  Prof. 
E.  B.  Forbes,  who  says  : 

"During  the  past  two  years  the  station  has  been  feed- 
ing a  large  number  of  fattening  hogs  on  experimental 
rations,  and  made  considerable  use  of  linseed-oil  meal  a:; 
a  suj)plement  to  corn.  The  results  indicate  that  this 
feed  has  a  great  usefulness  for  this  purpose,  and  that  its 
^•aIue  is  not  Iiaif  appreciated  by  practical  pork  producers. 
Linseed-oil  meal  was  used  because  it  is.  at  ordinary 
prices  of  grains,  the  cheapest  vegetable  source  of  diges- 
til)le  protein  a\'ailable  as  a  complete  supplement  to  corn 
for  dry-lot  hog-feeding. 

"On  account  of  its  name  this  feed  is  popularly  sup- 
])Osed  to  produce  an  oily  grade  of  pork,  but,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  methods  of  extraction  of  the  oil  from  the 
flaxseed  of  late  have  been  so  perfected  that  in  the  bulk 
of  the  oil  meal  now  on  the  market  there  is  much  less  oil 
than  in  either  corn  or  oats.  We  have  foimd  by  follow- 
ing through  the  packing  house  a  large  number  of  hogs 


Z7^ 


SWINE   IN    AMERICA 


fed  on  this  feed  that  no  ration  which  we  have  as  yet  com- 
pounded produces  thicker,  firmer  or  whiter  fat  than  does 
linseed-oil  meal  used  witli  corn.  In  our  slaughter  tests 
of  carload  lots  of  hogs  fed  upon  various  grain  nations 
the  butchers  very  soon  learned  to  distinguish  by  the 
appearance  of  the  carcass  between  individuals  which 
had  received  oil  meal  and  those  which  had  received 
other  feeds ;  the  former  in  general  being  characterized 
by  such  marked  excellence,  from  the  packer's  point  of 
view,  as  to  place  them  almost  in  a  class  by  themselves. 
"The  accompanying  data  summarize  five  tests  of  lin- 
seed-oil meal  as  a  supplement  of  corn,  and  present  some 
rather  remarkable  results : 

RESULTS  FROM  USE  OF  LINSEED  OIL  MEAL  USED  AS  A  SUP- 
PLEMENT TO  CORN 


Rations. 

Initial 
weight. 

Days 

on 
feed. 

Average 
daUy 
gain. 

Grain. 

100 
pounds 
gain. 

Pcvmds 

lis 

116 
118 
130 
160 
120 

90 
90 
90 
60 
29 
60 

Pounds 
.75 
1.48 
1.16 
1.62 
1.78 
1.68 

Pounds 
556 

Corn,  5  parts;  oil  meal,  1  part 

377 
430 

Corn    5 '  oil  meal    I               

384 

385 

358 

"The  first  lot,  fed  on  corn  alone,  produced  lOO  pounds 
of  pork  from  556  pounds  of  grain:  that  is,  ten  pounds 
of  pork  per  bushel  of  corn.  These  figures  coincide  with 
the  average  of  a  large  number  of  experiments  in  which 
corn  alone  has  been  used  for  pig-feeding.  The  second 
and  third  lots  were  fed  at  the  same  time  as  the  above  and 
differ  only  in  the  proportion  of  oil  meal  fed.    Five  parts 


FKKDING    nV-PRODUCTS  377 

of  corn  to  one  of  oil  meal  produced  lOO  pounds  of  pork 
from  2^^^  pounds  of  grain,  and,  figuring  the  corn  at  30 
cents  a  bushel  and  grinding  at  10  cents  a  hundredweight, 
a  ton  of  oil  meal  as  fed  in  this  ration  would  save  $49 
worth  of  corn.  In  the  third  lot,  where  20  pounds  of  corn 
were  fed  with  one  pound  of  oil  meal,  430  pounds  of 
grain  were  required  to  make  100  pounds  of  pork;  and  a 
ton  of  oil  meal  so  fed  would  save  over  $90  worth  of 
corn.  The  fourth  and  fifth  lots  agree  closely  with  tlie 
second,  while  the  last  in  the  table  indicates  a  still  greater 
efficiency  for  this  ration.  All  these  hogs  were  fed  in 
small  pens  having  granitoid  floors,  and  received  only  this 
grain  ration  and  water. 

"Rations  containing  linseed-oil  meal  are  particularlv 
palatable  to  hogs.  l)eing  consumed  in  larger  fjurmtitv  tlian 
any  other  we  have  been  able  to  compound.  These  ra- 
tions also  have  a  slightly  laxative  effect,  and  keep  the 
hogs  in  the  heartiest  and  thriftiest  condition  imaginable. 
It  seems  to  us  that  this  feed  has  a  much  wider  range 
of  usefulness  for  liog-feeding  than  is  commonly  appre- 
ciated. The  results  obtained  in  tlie  third  lot  above, 
where,  with  corn  at  30  cents  a  bushel  and  grinding  at 
ten  cents  a  hundredweight,  the  oil  meal  saved  v$90  worth 
of  corn  per  ton,  are  exceedingly  interesting  as  indicating 
the  great  usefulness  of  this  feed  when  administered  even 
in  small  quantities.  Greater  profit,  however,  results  from 
using  more  oil  meal  with  the  corn.  The  five-to-one  ra- 
tion gives  us  about  the  correct  proportion  of  ])rotein  to 
carbohydrates  and  fat.  and  is  a  practical  feed  for  dry- 
lot  pork  production." 


37^  SWINE   IX    AMKRICA 

COTTOXSEED  MEAL 

Cottonseed  meal  fed  direetly  to  swine  seems  to  cause 
fatal  results  in  the  large  majority  of  cases,  proving  its 
use  in  that  way  unsafe,  although  it  is  a  rich,  concen- 
trated food,  adaptable  over  a  wide  range  of  territory. 
On  this  account  it  has  been  the  subject  of  many  experi- 
ments, with  a  view  to  establishing  its  desirability  for 
swine,  none  of  which,  however,  has  so  far  secured  re- 
sults which  would  justify  its  general  use.  From  some 
cause  which  chemists  have  been  unable  so  far  to  deter- 
mine, it  has  the  effect  of  poison.  This  is  cumulative ;  it 
is  not  apparent  at  first,  but  according  to  the  recorded  ex- 
periments, may  be  fatal  at  any  time  from  three  to  ten 
weeks  after  its  use  has  begun.  The  vital  organs  appear 
affected,  l)ut  the  digestive  organs  sometimes  fail  to  reveal 
anything-  abnormal.  The  mortality  is  more  or  less  de- 
pendent upon  the  quantity  of  the  feed  given,  but  usually 
more  than  half  the  pigs  tested  have  died.  Generally  the 
fatal  attack  is  sudden ;  a  pig  which  seems  in  excellent 
health  may  be  dead  in  less  than  12  hours,  and  death  is 
seldom  delayed  more  than  48  hours  at  the  longest  after 
the  first  symptoms  of  poisoning  are  observed.  In  some 
cases  no  signs  of  disease  are  apparent ;  in  others,  there 
are  indications  similar  to  "thumps,"  with  failing  appe- 
tite, rapid  breathing,  and,  as  final  symptoms,  frothing  at 
the  nose  and  mouth. 

Experiments  have  been  made  in  feeding  cottonseed 
direct,  and  cottonseed  meal  roasted,  rotted,  steamed,  fer- 
mented, or  otherwise  prepared,  but  without  satisfaction. 
The  mea-l  is  more  dangerous  than  the  seed,  and  it  has 
l)een  established  that  the  toxic  agent  is  in  the  kernel  or 


FEEDING    BV-PRODUCTS  379 

meat  and  not  in  the  oil  or  hull.  A  curious  fact,  which 
appears  demonstrated  thoroughly,  is  that  the  meal  may 
be  given  safely,  even  in  moderately  large  quantities,  to 
cattle,  and  that  the  digestive  processes  are  responsible 
for  changes  whereby  hogs  may  work  over  the  droppings 
of  such  cattle  without  danger.  This  is  the  testimony  of 
many  stockmen,  but  the  extent  of  the  gain  which  the 
hogs  get  from  the  cottonseed  meal  in  the  droppings  is 
])roblematical. 

If  some  practical  means  is  found  which  makes  cotton- 
seed meal  a  safe  supplemental  feed,  its  value  in  pork  pro- 
duction in  the  southern  states  will  be  immense,  and  mean 
the  utilization  at  home  of  a  product  exported  to  the  ex- 
tent of  a  billion  pounds  annually  to  pay  for  feeding  ma- 
terial bought  largely   from  other  sections. 

This  should  not  be  construed  to  imply  that  cotton 
food  products  can  be  made  to  take  the  place  of  corn 
with  the  pork-maker  of  the  South.  This  idea  has  been 
]>revalent,  but,  to  quote  from  Bulletin  No.  85  of  the 
Arkansas  experiment  station,  it  "may  well  be  abandoned. 
They  cannot  replace,  but  may  prove  valuable  adjuncts  to 
corn  or  any  other  starchy  or  carbohydrate  food  which 
may  be  found  a\'ailable  in  the  South  for  hog  feeding. 
.  .  .  .\t  $1.25  per  hundred,  which  is  its  least  cost  laid 
down  here  (Arkansas  station,  1904),  in  half-ton  quan- 
tities, cottonseed  meal  as  a  large  constituent  of  any  ration 
cannot  be  called  a  cheap  feed.  As  an  exclusive  feed,  if 
it  could  be  used  that  way,  it  is  more  expensive  than  corn. 
Corn  itself  makes  a  one-sided  or  badly  balanced  ration 
for  pigs,  or  any  other  kind  of  young  stock.  When  fed 
alone  to  pigs,  it  results  in  stunted  growth,  unthrift  and 


380  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

disease,  a  fact  which  is  well  known  to  all  observant  and 
careful  feeders,  but  too  little  appreciated  by  the  general 
run  of  farmers.  This  is  due  to  its  high  content  of  those 
elements  of  the  food  which  develop  fat  and  heat,  and 
lack  of  those  necessary  for  the  development  of  flesh  and 
blood,  upon  which  the  proper  growth  of  the  animal  de- 
pends. Cottonseed  meal,  on  the  contrary,  contains  a 
great  excess  of  these  latter  elements  and  a  deficiency  of 
those  starchy  constituents  which  are  so  much  in  excess 
in  corn.  Independent  of  any  actual  poison  present  in 
cottonseed  meal,  its  exclusive  or  excessive  use  in  hog- 
feeding  would  doubtless  also  result  in  unthrift  and  dis- 
ease. But  it  supplies  the  nitrogenous  or  flesh-forming 
elements  in  the  cheapest  concentrated  form  in  which  it 
can  be  bought.  For  these  reasons  cottonseed  meal  and 
corn  should  supplement  each  other  and  be  fed  together." 

MUST  BE  USED  CAUTIOUSLY 

The  experiments  at  the  Arkansas  station  show  that  the 
question  of  poison  is  one  of  amount  of  feed  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  and  that  ''the  toxic  allowance  is  deter- 
mined by  the  amount  per  day  rather  than  by  the  absolute 
amount  fed.  Thirty  pounds  fed  in  30  days  may  cause 
fatal  poisoning,  while  amounts  up  to  150  pounds,  in 
proper  daily  allowance,  have  been  fed  without  harmful 
effects."  This  would  suggest  that,  in  sufficiently  moder- 
ate quantity,  and  given  with  due  discretion,  cottonseed 
meal  or  cottonseed,  might  be  fed  with  corn  to  hogs  with- 
out danger.  The  "danger  limit"  has,  in  fact,  been  esti- 
mated by  Prof.  R.  R.  Dinwiddie  of  the  Arkansas  station. 
although  he  says  (Bulletin  No.  85)  :  "According  to  our 


FEEDING    BY-PRODUCTS  381 

experience,  any  economic  advantages  to  be  derived  from 
feeding  this  material  will  be  secured  by  amounts  well 
under  the  danger  limit,  and  that  independent  of  its  ef- 
fects on  health.  The  maximum  safe  allowance,  if  there 
is  any  such,  should  be  determined  with  certainty  by  ex- 
periments more  numerous  and  extensive  than  have  so 
far  been  carried  out,  and  the  figures  deduced  from  our 
own  experiments  are  given  with  the  knowledge  that  the 
next  man's  work,  or  even  our  own  under  different  con- 
ditions, may  necessitate  their  revision.  For  the  benefit 
of  those  who  may  wish  to  'take  the  chances'  on  feed- 
ing cottonseed  meal  or  cottonseed  to  hogs  continuously, 
the  following  allowances  appear  to  be  well  within  the 
danger  limit  : 

"Pigs  under  50  pounds,  M  pound  per  day. 

"Pigs  from  50  to  75  pounds,  1-3  pound  per  day. 

"Pigs  from  75  to  100  pounds,  2-5  pound  per  day. 

"Pigs  from  100  to  150  pounds,  Yi  pound  per  day. 

"If  fed  a  full  grain  allowance,  the  dosage  may  be  ob- 
tained by  properly  proportioning  the  cottonseed  meal  to 
the  other  components  of  the  ration,  namely :  one  to  five, 
six,  seven,  or  eight,  according  to  the  stage  of  growth. 
A  meal  ration  containing  cottonseed  meal  should  also 
contain  at  least  an  equal  amount  of  wheat  bran  to  supply 
bulk.  For  the  remainder,  corn  appears  to  be  the  only 
choice." 

Experiments  at  the  Texas  station  (Bulletin  No.  78) 
conducted  with  a  view  to  determining  a  line  of  safety  in 
feeding  cottonseed  meal,  resulted  in  the  following  recom- 
mendations : 


382  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

"i.  For  animals  on  heavy  feed,  that  not  more  than 
one-fourth  the  weight  of  the  grain  ration  consist  of  cot- 
tonseed meal. 

"2.  That  this  feeding  continue  not  more  than  50 
days,  or  that  the  proportion  of  meal  be  reduced  if  feed- 
ing is  to  be  continued  longer. 

"3.  That  the  meal  be  mixed  with  the  other  feed  and 
all  soured  together. 

"4.  That  as  much  green  feed  as  possible  be  supplied 
to  the  hogs. 

"5.  That  a  close  watch  be  kept,  and  the  meal  taken 
from  any  animals  not  eating  or  not  gaining  well. 

"Feeders  who  have  had  experience  with  the  meal  will 
probably  be  able  to  exceed  these  recommendations,  which, 
however,  allow  the  use  of  enough  meal  greatly  to  im- 
prove a  corn  diet.  One  pound  of  cottonseed  meal  to  five 
of  corn  furnishes  the  nutrients  in  the  most  desirable  pro- 
portions for  fattening,  while  one  or  two  of  corn  are  more 
nearly  correct  for  young,  growing  stock." 

Numerous  experiments  have  been  made  in  the  use  of 
cottonseed  meal  for  hog-feeding,  but  they  are  not  detailed 
liere.  inasmuch  as  conclusions  so  far  are  not  definite. 
Reports  have  been  made  in  the  following  state  experi- 
ment station  bulletins:  Alabama,  Nos.  68.  122;  Arkan- 
sas, Nos.  31.  76,  85  ;  Iowa,  Nos.  28,  32,  66;  Kansas,  Nos. 
53,  95;  Kentucky,  No.  19;  Mississippi.  Nos.  13,  60; 
North  Carolina.  No.  109;  Oklahoma,  Nos.  51,  58;  Texas, 
Nos.  21,  41,  78;  Washington,  No.  67;  and  in  the  follow- 
ing annual  reports  of  experiment  stations ;  New  York 
(Geneva),  Eleventh  and  Twelfth;  Oklahoma.  1900-01, 
1901-02;  Wisconsin,  Eleventh  and  Twenty-second. 


FEEDING    BY-PRODUCTS  383 

John  Fields,  formerly  director  of  the  Oklahoma  ex- 
periment station,  says:  "Cottonseed  isn't  good  feed  for 
hogs,  and  when  you  try  to  use  it  for  that  purpose  you  run 
the  risk  of  heavy  loss." 

RICE   BY-PRODUCTS 

Rice  by-products  have  been  satisfactorily  used  for 
feeding  swine,  and  for  this,  rice  meal,  which  includes  all 
tlie  by-products  after  cleaning  the  rice,  has  been  found 
C(jual  to  corn  meal.  It  is  claimed  by  Southern  feeders 
that  exclusive  or  excessive  feeding  on  rice  meal  has  a 
tendency  to  weaken  the  intestines  of  hogs. 

The  South  Carolina  station  conducted  experiments  in 
1900  to  determine  the  value  of  rice  meal,  using  corn 
meal  as  the  standard.  Six  Berkshire  pigs,  of  uniform 
age  and  size,  were  dix-ided  into  two  lois  and  fed  for  6i 
days,  beginning  early  in  July.  The  meal  was  mixed  with 
separator  skim  milk,  which  contained  but  little  fat,  and 
they  were  fed  all  that  they  would  clean  up.  This  was 
four  pounds  of  meal  and  i6  pounds  of  milk  per  head  at 
the  beginning,  and  increased  as  they  would  take  it.  One 
lot  was  fed  corn  meal  and  milk,  and  the  other  rice  meal 
and  milk  for  39  days,  when  the  feeding  was  reversed, 
and  the  lot  which  had  pre\iously  received  one  kind  of 
meal  was  given  the  other  for  the  remainder  of  the  period. 
Water  was  furnished  at  noon  each  day,  but  it  was  noticed 
that  the  pigs  drank  but  little.  Feed  valuations  were  set 
at  $20  per  ton  for  corn  meal,  $15  per  ton  for  rice  meal, 
and  20  cents  p(  r  100  pounds  for  skim  milk.  The  re- 
sults for  the  entire  experimetit  were  tabulated  as  follows : 


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1.            P.P- 

•rt  •* 

-_^ 

■rt'-^" 

fl 

§1     1 

8.E 

E.fi   ' 

i 

55= 

ac^  . 

FEEDING    JJY-rKODUCTS  385 

By  this  table  rice  meal  apparently  has  a  feeding  value 
for  swine  sligiitly  above  that  of  corn  meal,  and,  allowing 
for  the  variations  that  will  occur  with  different  lots  of 
pigs,  it  may  be  said  to  be  of  practically  the  same  value  as 
corn  meal.  An  experiment  at  the  Massachusetts  station 
(Report  of  1896)  showed  that  when  equal  weights  of 
corn  meal  and  rice  meal  were  fed  with  skim  milk  to 
different  pigs  of  equal  age  the  gain  was  exactly  the 
same. 

According  to  the  bulletin  of  the  South  Carolina  sta- 
tion, ''the  rice  meal  is  a  by-product  of  the  rice  mills,  and 
consists  largely  of  rice  flour,  rice  polish,  and  rice  bran. 
As  yet  the  mills  have  no  uniform  way  of  putting  it  on 
the  market,  and  in  order  that  the  reader  may  understand 
\\'hat  we  mean  by  rice  meal  as  used  in  this  experiment, 
we  might  say  that  it  is  all  the  by-product  obtained  in 
cleaning  the  rice  grain  for  the  market.  Its  chemical  an- 
alysis shows  that  it  has  a])out  the  same  amount  of  pro- 
tein, carbohydrates  and  fat  as  corn  meal." 

Rice  polish  and  rice  bran  return  good  results  in  feed- 
ing hogs,  but  are  not  always  easy  to  obtain,  as  the  millers 
prefer  to  mix  them  with  the  hulls,  and  the  mixture  has 
a  materially  depreciated  feeding  value.  The  practical 
value  of  rice  meal  is  more  or  less  dependent  upon  the 
amount  of  cheap  by-product  that  has  been  mixed  in  it. 
The  Alabaiua  station  reported  in  Bulletin  No.  122  a 
number  of  tests  of  rice  polish  which  showed  its  high 
feeding  value  when  the  quality  is  good.  In  these  tests 
100  pounds  of  gain  were  produced  from  an  average  of 
^y;^  pounds  of  rice  polish,  as  compared  with  474  pounds 
of  corn  meal.     "At  this  rate,"  the  bulletin  summarizes, 


386  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

"78.6  pounds  of  rice  polish  were  equal  to  100  pounds  of 
corn  meal,  a  saving  of  21.4  per  cent  of  the  grain  by  the 
use  of  polish  in  lieu  of  corn  meal."  In  1900  the  Ala- 
bama station  paid  $26  per  ton  for  rice  polish,  and  in 
1902  it  was  quoted  from  the  same  source  at  $17.90 
per  ton. 

Mr.  E.  J.  Fellows  made  extensive  experiments  in  1906 
with  rice  bran  at  Springfield,  Missouri,  where  he  main- 
tained as  many  as  1,200  hogs  at  a  time.  The  rice  bran 
was  made  into  a  slop,  mixed  in  large  tanks,  and  used  in 
connection  with  corn ;  at  200  pounds  weight  the  hog  was 
given  three  pounds  of  rice  bran  a  day  and  two  pounds 
of  corn.  Mr.  Fellows  says :  "Rice  bran,  when  pure,  is 
a  splendid  hog  feed,  but  in  the  last  two  years  it  has 
been  impossible  to  get  good  goods  on  account  of  adul- 
teration with  rice  hulls."  Rice  hulls  contain  about  13 
per  cent  ash  and  35  per  cent  crude  fiber  and  are  ground 
up  so  that  they  have  the  appearance  of  bran,  and  mixed 
with  the  pure  bran  to  be  sold  as  "rice  feed"  or  "pure  rice 
bran."  As  the  hulls  have  little,  if  any,  feeding  value, 
such  an  adulteration  materially  reduces  the  worth  of  any 
rice  by-product. 

PACKING  HOUSE  BY-PRODUCTS 

Scraps  and  trimmings  of  meat  and  bone  from  the 
packing  houses,  which  were  formerly  utilized  in  ferti- 
lizer manufacture,  are  now  converted  into  an  appetizing 
and  protein-furnishing  food  for  swine,  for  which  there 
is  developing  a  demand  taxing  the  houses  to  supply. 
Dried  blood  and  slaughter-house  waste  likewise  come 
within  this  class  of  feeds. 


FEEUIXG    BV-I'RUDUCTS  387 

Feeding  of  offal  at  local  slaughterhouses  has  been  a 
common  practice,  and  meat  scraps  have  been  prepared 
for  years  in  Europe,  especially  in  Germany,  as  food  for 
swine.  It  was  not  until  1901  and  1902.  however,  that 
American  packers  realized  that  from  tlieir  meat  residues 
could  be  prepared  an  economical  hog  food  oi  high  \aluc 
to  supplement  the  fat-making  properties  of  corn.  This 
was  demonstrated  by  experiments  at  the  Indiana  station 
(Bulletin  No.  90).  The  packers  were  quick  to  take  ad- 
\antage  of  new  opportunities  presented,  and  by  1904 
practically  every  experiment  station  in  North  America 
had  been  supplied  with,  and  made  acquainted  with  the 
new  food.  The  objectionable  odor  had  been  eliminated, 
and  by  cooking,  pressing  and  grinding,  the  form  was 
made  attracti\'e.  Experiment  station  reports  and  the 
farm  press  have  used  the  packers'  various  trade  names  of 
"digester  tankage,"  "meat  meal,"  "beef  meal,"  etc.,  but 
the  composition  and  preparation  of  these  differently 
named  feeds  are  essentially  the  same,  and  the  results  of 
an  experiment  with  one  are,  in  the  main,  applicable  to  the 
use  of  another  in  a  like  class  of  protein  content.  Most 
of  this  by-product  is  sold  under  the  guarantee  or  claim 
that  it  contains  at  least  60  per  cent  of  protein.  As  it 
usually  contains  from  12  to  20  i)er  cent  of  mineral  mat- 
ter, its  excellence  for  balancing  a  corn  ration  can  readilv 
be  seen. 

The  following  analysis  was  made  In'  the  Indiana  sta- 
tion f  Bulletin  No.  90)  : 

Water,  8.63  per  cent:  ash,  15.94  per  cent;  protein, 
49.81  per  cent;  crude  fiber.  4.78  per  cent;  nitrogen-free 
extract,  5.06  per  cent:  ether  extract,  15.78  per  cent. 


388 


SWINE    Ii\    AMERICA 


Analyses  of  three  (lilTercnt  samples  of  varying  qualily 
ade  at 
results  : 


made  at  the  Iowa  station  (Bulletin  No.  65)  gave  these 


ANALYSES  OF  THREE  SAMPLES   OF   PACKING   HOUSE   FEED- 
ING STUFFS 


AVatur. 

Ash. 

Protein. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Nitrogen- 
free  ex- 
tract. 

Ether 
extract. 

Per  cent. 
6.  10 
6.25 
y.05 

Per  cent. 
15.60 
12.85 
20.65 

Per  cent. 
61.10 
42.15 
39.10 

Per  cent. 
5.20 
6.95 
10.90 

Per  cent. 
3.12 
15.50 
8.60 

Per  cent. 
8.88 
16.30 
11.70 

Two  samples  of  "extra  quality,"  representing  the  lead- 
ing two  brands  on  the  market,  were  analyzed  at  the  Iowa 
station  (Bulletin  No.  91)  and  gave  this: 

ANALYSES   OF   PACKING    HOUSE    FEEDING   STUFFS 


Water. 

Ash. 

Protein. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Nitrogen 
free  extract. 

Fat. 

No.  1 

No.  2 

8.23 
12.61 

6.50 
9.62 

66.36 
53.54 

2.50 
7.24 

6.04 
9.54 

10.37 
7.45 

The  cost  was  $35  a  ton  for  No.  i,  and  ^t,t,  a  ton  for 
No.  2,  or  $1.75  and  $1.65  a  hundredweight  respectively, 
not  including  $1.50  a  ton  for  freight. 

The  analyses  give  an  idea  of  the  range  of  value  of  this 
product,  and  that,  theoretically  at  least,  it  should  have 
high  feeding  value  as  a  supplement  in  fattening.  This 
has  been  confirmed  in  practice  by  both  feeders  and  ex- 
perimental workers. 


FEliUlNG    liV-l'RUUUCTS  3S9 

This  by-product  is  made  of  scraps  and  trininiings  from 
meat  and  fat,  and  scrap  bones,  with  sometimes  pieces  of 
intestines,  hair  and  similar  residue.  It  is  cooked  or 
steamed  for  several  hours  in  pressure  tanks,  which  is 
said  to  destroy  any  existing  disease  germs ;  its  grease  is 
afterward  drawn  off  and  the  greater  part  of  the  moisture 
c\aporated  or  pressed  out.  After  being  dried  and 
ground  it  resembles  rather  dark  wheat  shorts.  It  is 
shipped  usually  in  lOO-pound  sacks,  and  claim  is  made 
by  the  makers  that  it  will  maintain  its  quality  indefinitely 
under  ordinarily  good  storage  conditions. 

It  should  be  used  only  in  relatively  small  quantities, 
not  over  one-fourth  to  one  pound  a  day  to  the  animal, 
according  to  age  and  condition.  It  may  be  given  dry  or 
in  slop,  separate  from,  or  mixed  with,  other  feed,  but 
the  preferred  method  seems  to  be  dry  feeding  in  a  trough 
and,  if  with  corn,  before  that  is  given.  Hogs  sometimes 
require  a  day  or  so  to  become  accustomed  to  the  feed,  but 
after  that  will  usually  eat  it  with  much  relish. 

Experiments  have  shown  that  20  to  40  per  cent  of  corn 
meal  is,  or  may  be  saved,  by  the  use  of  this  packers'  by- 
product, and  in  addition,  it  aids  in  securing  a  quicker 
iniisli  and  a  generally  improved  condition,  particularly 
where  feeds  of  a  like  character,  such  as  skim  milk  or 
pasturage,  to  supplement  corn,  are  not  availal^le.  When 
balancing  a  corn  ration,  it  has  been  found  best  to  use 
the  packers'  product  for  not  over  ten  per  cent  of  the  ra- 
tion. Results  of  using  it  with  corn  meal  at  the  Indiana 
station  (Bulletin  No.  90)  and  at  the  Iowa  station  (Bul- 
letin No.  65)  have  been  summarised  by  Rommel  thus: 


390 


SWINE    IN    AMERICA 


RESULTS     WITH     RATION     OF     CORN     MEAL    AND     PACK 
HOUSE    TANKAGE 


ING 


0. 

ta| 

^4 

Feed  eaten. 

Feed  per  100 
pounds  gam. 

§.E 

"c 

!5  bi 

d 

"o 

•d  S 

-  nl 

Ration. 

Sl 

'i^ 

u-6 

S^ 

■ji 

ai. -v^ 

•yj 

i  ■ 

u  '^ 

2; 

2g 
II 

11 

II 

2  • 

SJ.S 

i 

1(2 

d  c 

(5(2 

11 
^(2 

!| 
at 

Indiana: 

Corn  meal  10 
Tankage  1 .  . 

1  * 

59 

589 

127 

1.16 

1,982 

197 

337 

33 

$3.80 

Com  meal  5 . 
Tankage  1 .  . 
Corn  meal..  . 

1  * 

58 

625 

127 

1.23 

1.984 

379 

317 

61 

4.00 

4 

58 

342 

127 

.67 

1,779 

520 

5.20 

Corn  meal  & 

shorts  10..  . 
Tankage  1.... 

1  ^ 

58 

579 

127 

1.14 

2.001 

199 

346 

34 

3.60 

Iowa : 

Com  meal..  . 

6 

197 

596 

49 

2.08 

2,747 

461 

5.10 

Com  meal  & 

tankage..  . 

6 

202 

757 

49 

2.57 

2,429 

458 

321 

61 

4.50 

Corn  meal  & 

tankage..  . 

6 

::!_ 

668 

•1'- 

2.27 

2,438 

460 

365 

69 

4.90 

Market  prices  of  feeding  stuffs  used  in  these  experi- 
ments were  $22  a  ton  for  corn  meal  and  $25  to  ^^2  a 
ton  for  tankage. 

From  experiments  in  fattening  on  corn  and  tankage  at 
the  Nebraska  experiment  station  in  1905  and  1906  (Bul- 
•letin  No.  94)  the  following  conclusions  are  drawn: 

"A  notable  advantage  in  the  feeding  of  tankage  is 
seen  in  the  more  rapid  gains  made  by  the  hogs  and  the 
consequent  shortening  of  the  feeding  period.  Another 
argument  for  tankage  is  that  it  is  a  concentrated  protein 
food.  Only  a  small  amount  is  required  to  produce  the 
result  desired.  In  all  the  experiments  made  at  this  sta- 
tion the  hogs  fed  tankage  consumed  more  feed,  made 
larger  gains,  and  were  not  easily  put  'off  feed,'  while 
the  hogs  fed  on  straight  shelled  corn  were  easily  thrown 
off  their  feed  after  the  first  six  weeks,  consumed  less  feed 


FEEDING    BY-PRODUCTS 


391 


and  made  slower  gains.  The  feeding  of  tankage  or 
ground  bone  to  young,  growing  pigs  produces  a  very 
marked  effect  on  the  strength  of  bone  when  compared 
with  a  corn  ration,  and  its  influence  is  still  marked  when 
compared  with  corn  and  shorts  on  alfalfa  pasture."  In 
the  Nebraska  experiments  tankage  was  figured  at  a  cost 
of  $40  a  ton. 

In  one  of  tlie  experiments  reported  by  the  Nebraska 
station  (Bulletin  No.  94),  30  hogs  which  had  been  with 
grain-fed  steers  were  separated  into  three  lots  of  ten  each 
and  placed  in  alfalfa  pasture.  They  were  fed  on  rations 
as  indicated  in  the  table  following,  from  May  to  July,  a 
period  of  eight  weeks,  each  lot  being  fed  practically  all 
the  hogs  would  eat.  They  were  in  good  condition 
throughout  the  experiment.     Results  were  as  follows: 

RESULTS    FROM    FEEDING    SOAKED   CORN    AND    TANKAGE 


Lot  1. 

Lot  2.          j         Lot  3. 

Soaked 
com. 

10 
8 
216 
145 
71 
1.26 
416 
S3 .  04 
.78 

Soaked 
com,  95^ 
Tankage  5% 
10 
8 
229 
144 
85 
1.51 
371 
S2.88 
.98 

Soaked 

Number  of  pigs  on  experiment 

corn,  90% 

Tankage  10% 

10 

8 

Average  last  weight,  pounds 

Average  first  weight,  pounds 

Average  gain,  pounds 

Average  gain  per  day,  jjounds 

Feed  for  100  pounds  gain,  pounds 

Cost  of  100  pounds  gain 

Price  received  per  bushel  for  com  eaten 

230 
144 

86 
1.53 
366 

$3.09 

.85 

This  was  a  return  of  nearly  $i  a  bushel  for  corn  when 
fed  with  the  addition  of  but  5  per  cent  of  tankage. 

PACKERS'   RESIDUE   VS.    SKIM  MrLK 


Packers'  "meat  meal"  and  tankage  make  in  a  way  an 
acceptable  substitute  for  skim  milk,  and  are  accordingly 


392 


SWINE   IN    AMERICA 


of  value  for  growing  pigs.  Tests  to  determine  the  rela- 
tive value  of  these  by-products  were  conducted  at  the 
j\Iichigan  station  (Bulletin  No.  2T,y).  in  which  it  was 
found  that  skim  milk  returned  slightly  larger  gains,  but 
that  the  cost  was  relatively  more  than  with  tankage. 
These  results  were  obtained  from  skim  milk  at  20  cents 
per  100  pounds  and  tankage  at  $1.62^  per  hundred. 

One  test  was  made  through  a  period  of  56  days  in  the 
winter,  in  which  the  ration  for  Lot  I  consisted  of  corn 
meal,  three  parts ;  middlings,  three  parts ;  and  tankage 
one  part,  mixed  with  water.  For  Lot  IL  equal  parts  of 
corn  meal  and  middlings,  with  an  equal  weight  of  skim 
milk.     The  results  were  as  shown : 

SKIM    MILK    vs.    TANKAGE  ;    TESTS    WITH     PIGS    BETWEEN 
FOUR  AND   SIX    MONTHS   OLD 


Ft.od  per 

rM 

Food  consumed. 

pound 

;Q 

0 

a 

0  c 

gam. 

Lot  No. 

§ 

3 

■3 

■& 

a 

V. 

zi 

:^ 

b 

C  m 

rt-O 

G-rt 

0^ 

M 

•a 

^^ 

M  C 

bo  C 

c 

b^ 

'S  ^ 

^^ 

^£ 

0 

d^ 

S^ 

Hfe 

^  0 
WO, 

^-0 

cS  0, 

^^ 

5^ai 

1     Five  pigs.. 

3U.3 

621 

307.7 

420 

420 

140 

$10,67 

$3.46 

3.18 

2    Five  pigs. . 

323.0 

654 

331.0 

461 

461 

980 

S11.18 

$3.37 

2.78 

2.96 

1 

• 

The  pigs  in  Lot  I  made  a  daily  average  gain  of  1.09 
pounds  each  with  an  average  daily  consumption  of  3.5 
pounds  of  feed  per  head,  while  those  in  Lot  II  increased 
in  weight  daily  1.18  pounds  each,  consuming  on  an  aver- 
age 3.29  pounds  of  meal  mixture  and  3.5  pounds  of  skim 


FEEDING    BY-PRODUCTS 


393 


milk  each  per  day.     No  difference  could  be  detected  be- 
tween the  two  lots  as  to  thrift  and  feeding  ability. 

Two  other  tests  were  made  in  the  summer,  one  with 
pigs  between  50  and  120  days  old  (Lots  V  and  VI  in 
the  following  table;  two  barrows  and  three  sows  in  each 
lot),  and  another  with  pigs  between  58  and  128  days  old 
(Lots  III  and  IV:  one  barrow  and  three  sows  in  each 
lot).     These  tests  showed  the  following  results  : 


SKIM   MILK  vs.  tankage;  TESTS  WITH   PIGS  BETWEEN    50 
AND   128  DAYS  OLD 


0 

s 

1! 

II 

1 
0 

Food  consumed. 

OP. 

Food  per 
pound 
gain. 

Lot  No. 

■J, 

II 

ll 

ll 
U 

3     Four  pigs.  . 

159 

443 

284 

266.7 

533.3 

80 

$9.30 

$3.27 

3.09 

4    Four  pigs.. 

152 

463 

311 

245.5 

49)  .0 

2209.5 

$11.78 

$3.78 

2.36 

7.1 

5     Five  pigs... 

183 

478 

295 

282.4 

564.8 

84.8 

$9.85 

$3.33 

3.15 

6   Five  pigs.... 

184 

523 

339 

262.7 

525.3 

2,364 

$12.60 

$3.71 

2.32 

6.97 

In  order  to  verify  results  of  the  foregoing  tests,  two 
lots  of  pigs  were  given  corn  meal  and  middlings  in  tlu 
same  proportion  as  the  lots  of  the  preceding  table,  but 
without  skim  milk  or  tankage.  This  served  as  an  indi- 
cation of  the  value  of  both  skim  milk  and  tankage.  Re- 
sults in  the  "check  test"  were  made  with  pigs  not  used  in 
tlie  preceding  tests,  and  somewhat  older.  The  check  test 
was  summarized  as  follows : 


394 


SWINE   IN    AMERICA 


SKIM 

MILK 

VS.  tankage; 

CHECK    TEST 

Food  per 

2 

^ 

Food  consumed. 

pound 

tN 

'a 

3 

gain. 

^ 

^ 

• 

8.S 

Lot  No. 

1—1 

(ii 

60    . 

6 

rs 

uM 

— 

e^ 

fc^ 

E-S 

.G-O 

.c-d 

un-o 

-,s 

."O 

M  C 

.y  c 

c 

H^ 

1;;^ 

g  P     .5  3 

^eu 

^p: 

o 

dii 

Stii 

^^ 

Cfl&H 

H  = 

da 

Si 

Msi 

7     Five  pigs... 

265 

554 

289 

386.8 

773.7 

$11.00 

$4.01  4.01 

8    Five  pigs.  . 

258 

535 

277 

386.8 

773.7 

$11.60 

$4.18 

..,s 

General  results  are  summed  up  in  the  bulletin  as  fol- 
lows :  "In  the  three  tests  including  tankage  and  skim 
milk,  the  average  cost  of  production  per  loo  pounds  with 
the  tankage  rations  was  $3.35,  with  the  skim  milk  rations 
$3.62,  and  with  the  check  ration  of  middlings,  corn  meal 
and  water,  $4.09.  In  the  three  original  tests  the  tank- 
age ration  pigs  consumed  an  average  3.14  pounds  of 
meal  mixture  per  pound  gain ;  those  receiving  skim  milk 
in  the  ration  required  2.48  pounds  of  meal  mixture  and 
5.67  pounds  skim  milk  per  pound  gain.  In  the  check  ra- 
tion, consisting  of  corn  meal  and  middlings,  the  average 
amount  of  meal  mixture  required  per  pound  gain  was 
4.09  pounds.  The  average  daily  gains  from  the  three 
tankage  rations  was  .98  pounds ;  from  the  three  skim 
milk  rations.  1.08  pounds,  and  from  the  check  ration.  .8 
pound ;  though  the  ration  containing  skim  milk  made  a 
slightly  greater  gain  than  where  tankage  was  used,  the 
cost  of  producing  this  increased  gain  was  somewhat 
greater." 

Hogs  following  fattening  steers  have  been  greatly 
improved  when  given  tankage  in  addition  to  the  drop- 


FEEDING    BV-PRODUCTS  395 

pings  from  the  cattle.  An  experiment  on  this  Hne  con- 
(hicted  at  the  Ohio  experiment  station  (Circular  No.  y2>) 
showed  that  hogs  which  received  one-third  pound  of 
tankage  daily  per  head,  made  gains  52.22  per  cent  larger 
than  those  dependent  solely  upon  the  droppings.  Six 
lots  of  steers  were  fed  upon  two  different  rations.  There 
were  seven  head  in  each  lot,  and  three  lots  were  fed  upon 
each  ration.  One  ration  consisted  of  shelled  corn,  cot- 
tonseed meal,  corn  stover,  corn  silage,  and  mixed  hay. 
The  other  was  shelled  corn,  cottonseed  meal,  corn  stover, 
and  mixed  hay.  At  the  end  of  63  days  the  three  hogs 
which  had  been  placed  with  each  lot  of  cattle  were  re- 
placed by  thinner  hogs,  four  to  each  lot.  All  lots  of 
hogs  were  supplied  with  a  mixture  of  ashes  and  salt,  but 
no  other  food  save  the  droppings  except  the  tankage. 
It  was  noticeable  that  the  hogs  fed  on  tankage  had  less 
desire  for  ashes  and  salt  than  the  other  lots.  The  gains 
made  through  the  addition  of  tankage  were  not  only 
much  larger,  but  were  found  to  be  cheaper,  with  tank- 
age figured  at  $37.60  a  ton.  A  comparison  of  gains  is 
shown  in  the  table  on  tlie  next  page. 

The  Ohio  experiment  led  to  the  following  general  ob- 
servation regarding  supplements  to  the  feed  of  hogs  fol- 
lowing fattening  cattle  (Circular  No.  yT^)  :  "While,  on 
account  of  its  cheapness  as  a  carrier  of  protein  and  "a.sh 
and  convenience  for  feeding,  tankage  was  used  in  the 
work  reported  herein,  it  is  believed  that  other  feeds,  such 
as  linseed-oil  meal,  soy  beans,  skim  milk,  buttermilk,  or 
middlings,  would  greatly  increase  the  efficiency  of  the 
'cattle  hog'  in  making  economical  gains.  Feeders  need, 
however,  lo  exercise  keen  discrimination  in  the  pnrcliase 


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FEEDING    BY-PRODUCTS 


397 


of  feedstiiffs,  lor  there  is  a  Hkelihooci  of  a  heavy  demand 
for  certain  feeds,  making  it  possible  for  the  manufactur- 
ers to  raise  prices  beyond  the  amount  justified  by  the 
feeding-  vakie.  Hogs  following  cattle  are  often  not  sup- 
plied with  the  ration  best  suited  for  producing  the  great- 
est gains." 

B.  E.  Carmichael.  animal  husbandman  of  the  Ohio 
experiment  station,  exhibited  at  the  Ohio  state  fair  of 
1908,  five  lots  of  five  pigs  each  that  had  been  fed  for  52 
days,  three  of  the  lots  having  tankage  as  part  of  their 
ration.  'J'hese  25  pigs  were  all  of  the  same  age,  type 
and  condition  when  their  feeding  test  begun.  The  de- 
tails of  the  feeding  and  the  results  it  brought  are  con- 
densed in  the  following  table  : 


Corn 

Corn 

Corn 

Corn 

Com 

meal  and 

meal  and 

tankage 

meal,  in 

meal,  on 

tankage, 

tankage, 

in  dry  lot 

Rations 

dry  lot 

pasture 

on  pas- 

in dry 

(J  full 

ture 

lot 

feed) 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Pounds 

338.5 

324.5 

329. 

338.5 

327. 

Final  weight 

S47.S 

69.6 

831. 

826.5 

689. 

Gain  in  1  ive  weight 

209. 

371.5 

502. 

488. 

362. 

Average  daily  gain  per  pig 

.67 

1.20 

1.62 

1.57 

1.17 

1062.5 

1279.5 

1613. 

1697.5 

1273. 

Corn           "          daily  per  pig.  . 

3.4 

4.1 

4.6 

4.9 

3.7 

Tankasie     "          dailv  per  pig.  . 

.6 

.6 

.5 

Peed  per  100  jionnds  gain 

508. 

344. 

321. 

348. 

352. 

The  corn  meal  and  tankage  mixture  fed  to  three 
of  the  lots  consisted  of  eight  parts  of  corn  meal  to  one 
part  of  tankage,  by  weight.  Each  of  the  lots  on  pasture 
had  access  to  one-fourth  of  an  acre  of  blue  grass  and 
white  clover:  the  lot  fed  corn  alone  on  pasture  ate 
notably  more  grass  than  did  the  lot  fed  corn  and  tank- 


398 


SWINE    IN    AMERICA 


age  on  pasture.  Accordingly  the  charges  per  lot  for 
pasture  are  $1.50  and  $1.00  respectively 

The  lot  fed  corn  meal  alone  made  relatively  slow 
gains. 

The  use  of  pasture  increased  the  rate  of  gain,  and 
reduced  the  amount  of  feed  required  to  produce  a  given 
gain. 

The  corn  meal  and  tankage  mixture  proved  more  etVi- 
cient  than  corn  meal  alone  in  producing  rapid  and  eco- 
nomical gains. 

Economy  of  gains  depends  very  largely  upon  mar- 
ket prices  of  feeds.  The  following  tables  show  the 
cost  of  gains  with  corn  at  45,  60  and  75  cents  per  bushel, 


Com 

Corn 

Corn 

Corn 

Corn 

meal  and 

meal  and 

tankage. 

Rations 

meal, 

meal, 

tankage. 

tankage, 

dry  lot 

dry  lot 

pasture 

pasture 

dry  lot 

(J  full 

feed) 

Corn,  45  cents  per  bushel;  tankage,  $42.60  per  ton. 


Cost  per  100  pounds  gain 

$4.09 

..,.„ 

$3.25 

$3.31 

$3.34 

Profit  on  gain  in  live  weight  of 

5  hogs  at  5  cents  per  pound . . 

1.91 

6.80 

8.76 

8.26 

5.99 

Profit  on  gain  in  live  weight  of 

5  hogs  at  6  cents  per  pound  . 

4.00 

10.51 

13.78 

13.14 

9.61 

Corn,  60  cents  per  bushel;  tankage,  $42.60  per  ton 


Cost  per  100  pounds  gain 

$5.45 

$4.09 

$4.02 

$4.14 

$4.18 

Profit  on  gam  in  live  weight  of 

5  hogs  at  5  cents  per  pound  . 

loss  .93 

3.37 

4.92 

4.22 

2.96 

Profit  on  gain  in  live  weight  of 

5  hogs  at  6  cents  per  pound . 

1.16 

7.08 

9.94 

9.10 

6. 58 

Com,  75  cents 

per  bushel 

tankage. 

$42.60  pel 

ton 

Cost  per  100  pounds  gain.  .  .  . 
Profit  on  gain  in  live  weight  of 

5  hogs  at  5  cents  per  ppund . 
Profit  on  gain  in  live  weight  of 

5  hogs  at  6  cents  per  pound. 

$6.81 
loss  3.78 
loss  1.69 

$5.02 

loss  .06 

3.65 

$4.78 
1.08 
6.10 

$4.96 
.17 
5.05 

$5.02 

loss .07 

3.55 

FEEDING    BY-PRODUCTS  399 

and  the  profit  on  each  lot  of  five  hogs  with  gain  in  live 
weight  at  5  and  6  cents  per  pound.  Market  conditions 
sliould  be  carefully  considered  in  this  connection. 

FERTILIZER  "TANKAGE"    NOT   A  FOOD 

The  use  of  the  term  tankage  should  not  lead  to  the 
idea  that  the  concentrated  tankage  used  as  a  fertilizer  is 
suitable  for  feed,  for  such  is  not  the  case.  Tiie  packing- 
house residues  prepared  for  feeding  purposes,  from 
which  the  objectionable  odors  and  disease  germs  have 
been  eliminated,  and  which  have  been  ground  almost  to 
the  fineness  of  middlings,  constitute  an  entirely  differ- 
ent article.  The  analyses  given  in  preceding  paragraphs 
show  considerable  diversity  in  their  quality,  but  most 
satisfactory  results  have  been  obtained  with  the  better 
grades,  and  of  late  the  largest  demand  has  been  for  those 
that  by  reason  of  their  protein  content  are  termed  "60 
per  cent"  product. 

OTHER  PACKING-HOUSE  BY-PRODUCTS 

Packing-house  by-products  of  minor  importance  in 
swine-feeding  are  dried  blood  and  ground  bone.  These 
are  sold  under  various  names,  such  as  "blood  flour," 
"blood  meal,"  and  "bone  meal." 

It  is  claimed  that  the  dried  blood  offered  commer- 
cially contains  about  85  per  cent  of  protein.  Its  value  is 
greatest  for  very  young  and  unthrifty  pigs.  Professor 
Henry  recommends  feeding  two  ounces  of  dried  blood 
per  100  pounds  of  pig.  The  price  of  dried  blood  is  rela- 
tively high  considered  as  a  feeding  stuff. 


400 


SWINE    IN    AMERICA 


Records  of  feeding  ground  bone  in  comparison  with 
other  rations  at  the  Nebraska  experiment  station  (Bulle- 
tin No.  94 )  show  the  following  results  for  five  weeks' 
feeding,  beginning  early  in  January,  1905,  with  corn 
and  shorts,  each  figured  at  80  cents,  and  tankage  and 
ground  bone  each  at  $2  per  100  pounds. 

COMPARATIVE    RESULTS    FROM    FEEDING    GROUND    BONE 


Lot   1 

Lot  2       j     Lot  3 

Lot  4 

8 

Corn 

171 
152 

19 
920 

$7.26 

8 

Corn  90% 
Tankage 
10% 
229 
184 
45 
530 
$4.87 

8 
Corn  90% 
Gr'd  bone 
10% 
221 
173 
48 
490 
$4.50 

8 

Com  75% 

Average  weight  at  close,  pounds.... 
Average  weight  at  beginning,  lbs. .  . 

Average  gain,  pounds 

Feed  for  100  pounds  gain,  pounds.  . 

Shorts 
2  5%, 

191 

154 
37 

700 
$5.60 

This  was  followed  l)y  tests  to  determine  the  relative 
strength  of  bones  as  developed  by  the  dififerent  feeds. 
Bones  from  hogs  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  table  were 
broken  in  a  testing  machine  with  the  results  as  shown 
on  the  next  page. 


SUGAR   FACTORY   BY-PRODUCTS 

The  principal  feeding  by-product  of  the  beet  sugar 
factories  is  the  beet  pulp,  fresh  or  dried.  Pulp  is  the  wet, 
shredded  mass  remaining'  after  extracting  the  sweet 
juices  for  sugar  manufacture,  and  is  frequently  obtain- 
able at  the  factories  at  a  low  price.  Its  use  has  in  many 
instances  been  highly  satisfactory  in  feeding  horses,  cat- 
tle and  sheep,  but  tests  of  it  for  swine  have  not  been 
numerous. 


FEEDING    BY-rKODUCTS 


401 


UREAXAGE-WEIGHTS    ON     BONES    OF    SWINE    ON     VARIOUS 
RATIONS 


First  Test 


I       Lot   1 

Lot  2 

Lot  3 

L„.4 

Killed  Feb.  10: 

3 

Soaked 
corn. 

192 

723 

607 

714 

3 

Corn  90% 

Tankage 

10% 

247 

1308 

825 

1007 

3 

Corn  90% 

Gr'd  bone 

10%. 

257 

1561 

732 

1081 

3 

Shorts  25^ 

Breaking  strength  of  radius  (fore 

210 

Breaking  strength  of  tibia  (lower 
hind  leg) 

891 

Average  of  two  bones  m  each  leg 
(eight  bones) 

641 

783 

Second  Test 


Killed  March   14: 

4 

171 

768 
542 
634 

4 
286 

1254 

834 

1057 

4 
242 

1044 

779 
942 

4 

204 

Breaking  strength  of  radius  (fore 
leg) 

835 

Breaking  strength   of   tibia    (lower 
hind  leg) 

Average  of  two  bones  in  each  leg 

801 

This  pulp,  as  it  comes  from  the  factory,  is  aljoiit  90 
per  cent  water,  consequently  low  in  nutrients  and  not  of 
practical  value  as  a  food  by  itself,  jjut  it  may  be  used  ad- 
vantageously with  grain  or  concentrated  feed  to  furnish 
succulence,  promote  digestion  and  increase  the  appetite. 
Herbert  Myrick  in  "The  American  Sugar  Industry" 
gives  an  analysis  of  beet  pulp,  showing  the  following 
percentages  of  digestible  nutrients : 

Protein,  1.3;   carbohydrates,  6.7  :   ether  extract,  0.4. 

BEET  PITLP  AS  FEED 

The  Colorado  station  compared  the  feeding  value  of 
sugar  beet  pulp  for  swine  with  sugar  beets,  and  in  con- 
nection with  wheat  and  barley  (Bulletin  No.  74).     The 


40- 


SUIXE   Ix\    AMKRICA 


hogs  did  not  relish  the  pulp  by  itself,  but  "  in  a  few  days 
they  were  eating  greedily  a  pulp  and  grain  mixture." 
Conclusions  reached  were  as  follows :  "Sugar  beets  and 
sugar  beet  pulp  proved  equally  valuable  in  our  experi- 
ments, and  because  of  its  cheapness  and  effect  on  growth 
we  believe  pulp  may  be  profitable  to  feed  to  growing  pigs 
in  connection  with  a  grain  ration,  or  during  the  first  part 
of  a  fattening  period.  The  pulp  gave  a  return  of  $1.50 
per  ton  when  fed  in  combination  with  grain,  and  served 
the  same  purpose  in  our  hog  rations  at  less  expense.  It 
was  necessary  at  first  to  mix  the  pulp  with  the  grain  to 
induce  the  pigs  to  eat  it.  ^Ve  would  not  recommend 
feeding  more  than  two  pounds  of  pulp  with  a  pound  of 
grain  in  a  ration  for  pigs  from  100  to  200  pounds  in 
weight.'"  Comparative  results  in  the  Colorado  experi- 
ments were  summarized  by  Rommel  in  the  following- 
table  : 


I-EEDING   VALUE    OF   SUGAR-BEET    PULP   WITH    GRAIN 
SUGAR    BEETS 


Grain 

Beet  pulp  and 

Rrain 

Sugar      beets 

and  grain. . . 


, 

HI 

.\veraRe  amount 
feed  eaten. 

Feed  per  100 
pounds  gain. 

a 
'0 

■9  a 

c* 

0 

§.s 

1 
g 

II 

II 

II 

1^ 

4 

PQ  a 

II 

II 

ii 

II 

95 

120 

104 

1.16 

546.50 

450 

... 

$4.50 

4 

97 

88 

99 

.89 

343        j    706 

390 

800 

4.30 

4 

101 

98 

104 

.94 

ue      |.. 

391 

420 

400 

5.00 

$3.90 
3.35 
2.93 


DRIED  BEET  TULP  AND  MOLASSES 

Dried  beet  pulp  is  of  two  sorts,  the  plain  or  white, 
which  is  usually  meant  when  dried  beet  pulp  is  referred 


FEEDING    BY-PRODUCTS  4O3 

to,  and  dried  molasses  beet  pulp.  Neither  has  been  found 
of  much  practical  value  for  swine.  Dried  sugar-beet 
chips  have  been  shown  in  German  experiments  (Milch- 
wirtschaftliches  Centralblatt.  Leipsic,  1905,  No.  12)  to 
give  less  satisfactory  results  when  added  to  a  barley  and 
skim  milk  ration  than  when  the  latter  was  given  w^ithout 
them.  In  this  test  the  fat  of  the  pigs  was  examined, 
but  no  material  difference  was  observed  from  use  of  the 
dried  sugar-beet  chips.  Beet  molasses  has  been  found 
unsatisfactory  for  swine.  Cane  molasses  is  thought  to 
nave  a  tendency  to  induce  sterility  in  breeding  animals. 
Where  sorghum  molasses  is  manufactured  the  skimmings 
from  the  vats  or  evaporating  pans,  mixed  with  other 
foods,  make  a  most  acceptable  relish  for  fattening  pigs. 

A  few  experiments  have  been  made  in  feeding  beet- 
sugar  molasses  to  hogs.  Apparently  the  only  one  with 
favorable  results  is  that  in  Sweden  by  I.  Insulander 
(Kunglia  Landtbruks-Akademiens  Handlinger  och  Tid- 
skrift,  Stockholm,  1895.  p.  246)  in  which  the  molasses 
was  mixed  with  skim  milk  fed  to  young  pigs.  On  the 
other  hand,  German  experiments  have  indicated  that  beet 
molasses  may  possess  poisonous  qualities  for  pigs,  and 
this  has  been  confirmed  in  the  United  States  by  an  experi- 
ment at  the  Cornell  experiment  station  (Bulletin  No. 
199),  reported  as  follows:  "On  January  2,  a  lot  of  five 
pigs  weighing  435  pounds,  was  put  upon  a  ration  of 
which  molasses  from  a  beet  sugar  factory  formed  a  part. . 
The  daily  ration  was  corn  meal,  eight  pounds ;  molasses, 
12  pounds,  and  skim  milk,  20  pounds.  This  quantity  was 
given  in  two  daily  feeds,  and  although  the  pigs  apnar- 
ently  did  not  relish  the  molasses,  they  ate  it.  On  January 


404  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

5  the  pigs  all  came  to  the  trough  in  the  morning  appar- 
ently in  their  usual  health.  Within  an  hour  one  was  dead, 
and  another  within  a  few  hours.  A  post-mortem  exam- 
ination was  made  by  Drs.  Law  and  Moore  of  the  veteri- 
nary college,  and  there  were  found  strong  indications  of 
jjoisoning.  The  pigs  remaining  were  immediately  put 
upon  a  ration  of  corn  meal  and  skim  milk.  The  pigs  in 
this  molasses-fed  lot  were  the  most  expensive  of  any  in 
the  experiments  conducted  at  the  time." 

In  experiments  at  the  Utah  station  (  Bulletin  Xo.  loi), 
no  indications  of  poisoning  were  discovered  from  using  a 
limited  quantity  of  beet  molasses,  but  it  was  necessary 
to  observe  care  in  its  feeding  to  prevent  scouring.  "The 
pork  from  the  pigs  in  this  trial  was  sold  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  station,  and  all  except  that  from  the  molasses-fed 
pigs  was  pronounced  fine  in  every  respect.  The  pork 
produced  on  molasses  was  objected  to  on  the  ground 
that  it  had  a  peculiar,  unsavory  taste." 

No  such  results  from  using  either  sorghum  or  cane 
molasses  appear  to  be  reported.  "Unlike  the  bitter  beet 
molasses,"  says  Henry,  "that  from  the  cane  plant  is  pala- 
table and  much  relished  by  all  farm  animals.  Cane  mo- 
lasses contains  about  50  per  cent  sugar  and  12  per  cent 
gums.  The  nutrients  it  contains  are  about  equal  to  those 
in  corn,  and  since  starch  and  sugar  have  practically  the 
same  nutritive  value,  cane  molasses  has  the  same  feed- 
ing value  as  an  equal  weight  of  corn.  Molasses  is  used 
to  some  extent  for  preparing  animals  for  show  or  sale. 
Its  good  effect  for  this  purpose  is  doubtless  due  to  its 
palatability,  including  large  consumption  of  the  feed  sub- 
stances with  which  it  is  mingled.    Flesh  put  on  by  molas- 


FEEDING    BY-PKODl'CTS  405 

scs  feeding  is  not  considered  substantial,  and  this  sub- 
stance is  said  to  be  deleterious  to  breeding  animals,  lead- 
ing to  sterility,  especially  with  males." 

Miss  Mary  Best  of  Barber  county,  Kansas,  who  has  had 
considerable  experience  in  the  manufacture  of  sorghum 
molasses  and  in  swine  raising,  reports  the  satisfactory 
feeding  of  sorghum  molasses  to  hogs.  She  says  (Eleventh 
Biennial  Report  of  the  Kansas  State  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture, p.  275)  :  "We  have  had  on  hand  a  good  many  bar- 
rels of  sorghum  molasses,  and  have  fed  it  to  the  hogs,  a 
few  gallons  at  a  time,  all  winter.  They  like  it  im- 
mensely." 

For  other  live  stock  mixtures  of  molasses  with  dried 
brewers'  and  distillers'  grains,  malt  sprouts,  hulls  and 
other  grain  offal,  ground  cornstalks,  waste  from  flour- 
ing mills,  and  like  material  have  found  more  or  less 
favor,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  they  may  in  future 
be  adapted  for  a  wider  use  with  swine,  profitably  utiliz- 
mg  in  this  way  much  by-product  not  popular  before.  In 
all  of  these  preparations,  as  with  packers'  residues,  a  high 
degree  of  heat  is  used  in  drying,  to  prevent  fermentation 
likely  to  occur  in  warm  weather.  The  proportion  of 
molasses  used  is  generally  about  lo  per  cent. 

DREAMERS'    AXD    DISTILLERS'    GRAINS 

Around  a  brewery  or  distillery  the  by-products  known 
as  brewers'  or  distillers'  grains  or  slop  are  available,  and 
sometimes  in  a  limited  way  are  fed  to  hogs,  but  not 
ordinarily  with  much  satisfaction. 

Professor  Henry  says :  "^^'et,  fresh  brewers'  grains 
are  useful  mainly  as  a  feed  for  milch  cows,  and  in  this 


406  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

particular  there  is  none  better.  The  writer  doubts 
whether  any  large  use  can  be  made  of  the  grains  for 
feeding  pigs.  When  we  remember  that  practically  all 
of  the  starch  has  been  taken  out  of  the  grain  and  that 
there  is  left  the  husk  and  cellular  parts,  together  with 
most  of  the  protein,  we  will  see  that  such  material  is 
hardly  suited  for  utilization  in  any  large  measure  by  the 
digestive  apparatus  of  the  pig.  No  doubt  some  of  the 
grain  can  be  used  as  'filling,'  the  same  as  bran  might  be." 
In  case  it  is  deemed  best  to  utilize  material  of  this 
kind  care  should  be  taken  to  prevent  souring  either  of 
the  feed  itself  or  of  drippings  through  or  under  floors 
or  elsewhere. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Water,  Slop  and  Swill 

Water,  while  not  a  food,  is  no  less  a  necessity  for 
swine,  and  the  hog,  having  a  small  stomach,  requires 
water  at  frequent  intervals.  It  is  a  requisite  to  digestion 
and  health,  and  the  method  of  its  supply  is  of  great 
importance,  especially  where  a  variety  of  succulent  feeds 
is  not  included  in  the  ration.  The  quantity  of  water 
which  swine  consume  varies  according  to  their  ages 
and  the  character  of  their  feeds.  This  was  indicated 
by  experiments  at  the  Indiana  station,  reported  (Bul- 
letin No.  70)  as  follows:  "Our  experiments  to  deter- 
mine the  quantity  of  water  consumed  by  pigs  were 
conducted  during  the  month  of  March.  Four  lots 
were  fed.  Lot  one  received  corn ;  lot  two,  wheat ; 
lot  three,  corn  and  wheat ;  and  lot  four,  soaked  wheat. 
Each  pig  also  received  3  pounds  of  skimmed  nr'"c  per 
day.  Each  pig  in  lot  one  drank  2.65  pounds  of  water; 
in  lot  two,  5.2  pounds;  in  lot  three,  3.9  pounds;  and  lot 
four,  5.3  pounds  of  water  per  day." 

DANGER    IX    SURFACE    AVATER 

As  a  general  rule,  all  surface  water  is  more  or  less 

unhealthful  and  is  liable  to  convey  disease.      This  is  true 

e\en  of  running  water,  if  the  stream  crosses  a  road  or 

another    farm    before    reaching    the    hog   lot.      Cholera 

m 


408  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

has  frequently  been  spread  in  this  manner,  as  has  been 
strikingly  demonstrated  by  the  Indiana  station  in  the  bul- 
letin already  quoted.  The  loss  from  cholera  in  the  state 
of  Indiana  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1897,  was  re- 
ported as  practically  900.000  head.  The  Indiana  station 
made  an  analysis  of  the  figures  for  the  years  1882- 1897, 
showing-  the  losses  for  each  township  in  the  state,  which 
quite  fully  demonstrated  that  cholera  was  spread  by  the 
streams.  It  was  found  that  "the  territory  involved  makes 
three  long  narrow  strips  in  the  state  at  distances  suffi- 
ciently removed  from  each  other,  so  that  only  a  positive 
factor  could  show  the  marked  differences  that  exist." 
These  strips  were  on  the  Wabash  and  the  north  and  south 
forks  of  the  White  river.  The  losses  in  the  townships 
bordering  on  the  rivers  were  found  to  be  t^t^  per  cent  to 
112  per  cent  greater  than  in  the  townships  of  the  second 
tier  from  the  river,  and  from  83  per  cent  to  208  per  cent 
greater  than  in  those  of  the  third  tier.  A  significant  fact 
gleaned  from  investigations  made  in  1895  and  1896  by 
the  station  was  that  nearly  everyone  of  the  breeders  of 
pure-bred  swnne  whose  herds  escaped  cholera  were  users 
of  well  water,  and  that  one  of  the  surest  means  of 
preventing  the  distribution  of  hog  cholera  is  the  use  of 
deep-well  water. 

The  Indiana  station  has  made  a  number  of  investiga- 
tions into  the  losses  of  swine  arising  from  access  to  a 
water  supply  of  unhealthful  or  otherwise  improper  char- 
acter, and  the  conclusion  reached  from  these  was  that 
such  losses  are  greater  by  far  than  those  which  come 
through  an  insufficient  supply  of  water.    Bulletin  No.  70, 


WATER,    SLOP    AND    SWUA.  4OO 

commenting  upon  this,  says  :  "The  hfe  cycle  of  the  para- 
sites that  affect  animals,  nearly  always  includes  a  stage 
of  development  outside  of  the  body.  Moisture  is  a 
necessary  factor  in  their  existence  outside  of  the  body 
and  hence  it  is  that  they  are  found  in  large  number  in 
surface  water,  and  are  ingested  (taken- up)  with  it.  Bac- 
teria can  stand  drying  better  than  parasites,  but  must 
have  water  in  which  to  multiply.  It  follows,  then,  that 
fewer  parasitic  diseases  of  stock  will  occur  upon  high 
pasture  land  when  well  water  is  furnished  than  upon 
bottom  land  where  they  must  depend  upon  a  supply  from 
otiier  sources.  Such  parasitic  diseases  as  worms  in  hogs 
are  largely  due  to  surface  water. 

"Whether  water  will  act  as  an  agent  for  the  carrying 
of  the  germs  of  disease,  the  ova,  larv?e  and  special  stages 
of  parasites,  will  depend  upon  the  sources  from  which 
the  water  is  obtained.  If  it  comes  from  a  deep  well 
that  is  properly  protected,  these  organisms  will  not  be 
present.  If  it  is  obtained  from  the  surface,  as  small 
ponds,  ditches  and  streams,  they  may  be  present.  Not 
all  surface  waters  are  dangerous,  but  all  are  more  or 
less  exposed  to  infection  and  may  become  dangerous  at 
any  time.  The  time  it  becomes  dangerous  cannot  he. 
detected  by  the  eye  and  may  not  be  detected  by  laboratory 
tests. 

1*  "The  earth  acts  as  a  filter  for  all  germs  that  fall 
upon  it,  no  matter  what  may  be  their  character.  Only 
a  small  per  cent  will  pass  through  the  first  inch  of  soil, 
and  a  very  small  number  will  pass  through  the  first  lo 
feet.  In  the  first  few  feet  of  soil  most  disease  germs  are 
destroyed  by  other  forms  of  life  that  inhabit  it,  but  should 


4IO  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

they  pass  further  down  they  are  restrained  only  by  the 
mechanical  action  of  the  earth.  If,  however,  a  soil  be- 
comes saturated  with  germs,  as  for  example  in  a  barn- 
3'ard,  or  if  the  pollution  is  delivered  below  the  surface, 
as  in  a  cess-vault,  little  purification  will  take  place  and 
the  germs  may  find  their  way  into  nearby  wells.  In 
order  to  be  certain  of  the  water  supply,  wells  should 
penetrate  an  impermeable  layer  of  earth,  and  the  sides 
be  perfectly  sealed,  as  with  the  iron  tubular  forms,  so 
that  no  water  can  gain  entrance  except  from  below. 
A  tubular  well  20  feet  deep  is  a  much  deeper  well,  from 
a  sanitary  standpoint,  than  a  dug  well  of  the  same  depth. 
It  is  also  true  that  a  shallow  well  may  produce  pure 
water  at  one  time  and  afterwards  become  contaminated 
because  of  the  saturation  of  the  soil  with  germs,  either 
by  the  barnyard  or  vault.'' 

The  Indiana  station  has  made  tests  to  obtain  an  idea 
of  the  number  of  germs  which  may  be  found  in  water, 
and  the  following  table  (Bulletin  No.  70)  shows  the 
range  in  number  of  germs  found  in  a  cubic  centimeter, 
v/hich  is  about  one-half  thimbleful: 

NUMBER    OF 
SOURCE.  r.ERMS    PER    CU.    CSI. 

Very  filthy  hog  wallow 2,680.000 

Ordinary  hog  wallow 730.000  to   1,420.000 

Wabash  river  about  LaFayette  12,000  to        32.000 

^\"abash  river  below  LaFayette  112.000  to      390,000 

Clean  looking  pond 290,000 

Filthy  watering  trough 248,000 

Stock  troughs 5,000  to        21,000 


WATER,    SLOP    ANl)    SWILL  4I I 

XUMHER    OF 
SOURCE.  GERMS    PER    CU.    CM. 

Tile  drains 8,000 

Six  cisterns  without  tilters.  .  .  .  5,000  to        91,000 

Four  cisterns  with  lihers 580  to           3,000 

Dug     well     receiving-     surface 

drainage 420,000 

Dug  well  14  feet  deep  in  corner 

of  unprotected  barn  lot 398.000 

Eight  tubular  wells  60  to   150 

feet  deep 4  to                16 

PONDS   AND   WALLOWS 

Where  it  is  found  desirable  to  use  water  from  a  sur- 
face source,  the  best  plan  is  to  construct  a  pond  which 
will  afford  a  minimum  of  danger,  and  to  fence  it  so  that 
the  stock  cannot  get  at  it  directly.  The  water  may  be 
supplied  in  a  trough,  through  a  pipe  in  the  dam. 

Stockmen  differ  widely  as  to  the  advisability  of  hog 
wallows,  some  of  the  most  successful  breeders  heartilv 
favoring  them,  while  by  others  they  are  vehemently 
opposed.  Some  maintain  that  a  wallow  is  a  benefit  and 
almost  as  necessary  as  the  feed  trough,  and  others  would 
not  permit  one  on  their  farms.  W.  H.  Haskell,  warden 
of  the  Kansas  State  Penitentiary,  says  that  25  years' 
experience  in  raising  hogs  in  large  and  small  herds  has 
convinced  him  that  the  first  step  to  take  in  arrang- 
ing a  hog  lot  or  pasture,  is  to  fence  out  any  running 
or  pond  water  so  securely  that  the  hogs  cannot  get 
to  it.  A  herd  of  600  hogs  is  maintained  at  the  Kan- 
sas  Penitentiary,   and   Mr.    Haskell   says  that   prior  to 


412  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

the  adoption  of  this  plan,  considerable  loss  was  expe- 
rienced from  cholera  and  other  diseases,  and  that  exclu- 
sion from  all  surface  water  apparently  put  an  end  to 
such  losses.  A.  J.  Lovejoy  says :  "I  have  a  good  many 
lots  and  not  a  water  hole  in  them.  Hogs  will  stand 
more  traveling  if  kept  dry.  They  may  be  kept  from 
getting  overheated  by  having  good  shade.  \Xe  use  tem- 
porary sheds  1 6  feet  square,  covered  with  brush  so  the 
water  may  leak  through,  but  they  never  get  muddy." 

On  the  contrary,  N.  H.  Gentry  says  :  "Creating  a  breed 
of  hogs  that  do  not  like  to  wallow  is  going  outside  of 
nature.  People  take  mud  baths  for  rheumatism.  You 
may  have  a  clean  brook,  but  the  hogs  won't  like  it.  I 
built  boxes  for  them  to  bathe  in,  and  5  minutes  after 
the  hogs  got  out  they  would  be  dry.  Earth  is  a  good 
disinfectant.  I  do  not  believe  in  a  filthy  place,  but  I 
never  saw  a  hog  that  did  not  like  a  mudhole,  and  when 
he  gets  in  it  he  does  not  want  water  but  wants  to 
wallow  in  the  mud.  It  cleans  the  scurf  from  his  skin. 
If  before  taking  him  to  an  exhibition  you  let  a  hog 
wallow  in  mud,  you  secure  a  skin  finish  you  cannot 
obtain  in  any  other  way.  Nothing  is  more  soothing 
than  mud.  I  tried  to  believe  for  years  that  it  was  not 
for  the  hog's  good,  but  I  tell  you  that  depriving  a  hog  of 
this  mud  bath  is  against  nature.  Nature  is  a  pretty 
risky  thing  either  to  play  or  fight  with.  I  do  not  believe 
all  stiff  hogs  have  rheumatism.  I  had  an  imported  sow 
that  had  never  eaten  corn  in  her  life,  and  she  foundered 
and  to  her  death  was  stiff;  as  plain  a  case  of  foundering 
as  I  ever  saw.  I  do  not  believe  in  fighting  with  nature. 
What  is  better  than  to  have  the  hogs  go  to  a  shady  place 


WATER,    SLOP    AND    SWILL 


4T3 


and  wallow,  without  too  much  water  ?  I  beHeve  in  mud 
baths,  but  I  keep  my  hogs  away  from  manure  heaps,  and 
always  have  shade  over  the  wallows." 

PROVIDING    POXDS 

A  plan  for  a  pond  to  furnish  drinking  water  has  lieen 
sug-gested  by  the  ( )klah(^ma  experiment  station  (Bulletin 
Xo.  66)  as  follows: 

"A  pond  that  is  to  furnish  drinking  water  for  stock 
should  be  fenced  and  the  stock  be  kept  out.  They  should 
drink  from  a  tank  supplied  with  water  from  the  pond 
through  a  pipe  under  the  dam  and  leading  to  the  bottom 
of  the  pond.  In  building  a  pond,  one  of  the  first  steps  is 
to  place  the  pipe  that  is  to  conduct  the  water  from  the 
])ond  to  the  tank  where  the  stock  is  to  drink.  This  pipe 
should  be  put  into  the  ground  about  two  feet  and  ex- 
tended 12  or  15  feet  beyond  the  line  where  the  bottom 
of  the  dam  will  come  on  the  inside.  Special  pains  should 
be  taken  to  pack  the  earth  well  in  the  trench  around  the 
pipe,  for  if  this  is  not  done,  water  is  very  likely  to  seep 
out  under  the  dam  through  this  ditch,  and  a  seep  like  this, 
once  started,  is  almost  impossible  to  stop.  A  i'4  inch 
pipe  should  be  used.  On  the  end  in  the  pond,  an  upright 
j)iece  of  pipe  that  will  extend  two  or  three  feet  above  the 
bottom  of  the  pond  should  be  attached.  A  substantial 
screen  of  some  kind  should  be  put  over  the  end  of  the 
upright  pipe.  A  cast  guard  such-  as  is  used  on  the  bot- 
tom of  a  pipe  in  a  well  is  good  for  the  purpose,  but 
should  not  have  the  gau^^e  screen  inside  that  is  commonly 
used  in  the  well.     The  guard  may  be  wrapped  outside 


414  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

with  coarse  galvanized  wire  screen.  It  is  well  to  fur- 
ther protect  this  outlet  pipe  and  screen  by  setting  four 
posts  in  a  square  around  the  pipe  and  about  two  feet 
from  it.  Coarse  wire  screen  may  be  used  to  inclose  the 
space  between  the  posts,  or  old  boards  may  be  put  on  if 
good-sized  cracks  are  left.  This  will  prevent  the  outlet 
from  being  covered  so  soon  when  the  conditions  are  sucli 
that  the  pond  fills  in  with  the  wash  brought  down  with 
the  water.  The  pipe  should  extend  20  to  30  feet  outside 
of  the  dam,  to  enable  placing  the  watering  tank  away 
from  the  soft,  seepy  ground  that  is  often  found  just 
below  the  dam.  It  is  well  to  put  in  a  cut-off  valve  near 
the  tank. 

"After  the  form  and  location  of  the  base  of  the  dam 
have  been  determined,  the  area  of  it  should  be  plowed. 
If  the  soil  is  full  of  roots,  or  covered  with  grass,  it  is 
best  to  scrape  it  off  as  deep  as  the  plowing  and  plow  up 
the  area  again,  leaving  the  base  loose  and  rough  before 
earth  for  the  bank  is  put  down.  This  will  aid  in  pre- 
venting seeping  at  the  bottom  of  the  dam.  To  make  a 
good  strong  embankment  for  a  pond,  the  sides  should 
slope  about  45  degrees,  or  in  other  words,  one  foot  in 
width  to  every  one  in  height.  If  the  labor  is  not  very 
expensive  and  other  work  not  crowding,  i>^  to  one 
will  be  a  better  pitch  for  the  bank,  particularly  on 
the  slope  on  the  inside  of  the  pond.  The  top  of  the 
dam  should  be  three  to  four  feet  wide  and  after  the  dam 
has  settled,  one  to  three  feet  above  the  level  of  the  pond 
when  full.  The  height  of  the  top  above  this  level  should 
be  such  that  the  water  will  not  go  over  the  dam  during 
a  freshet  except  at  the  spillway,  as  that  is  what  washes 


WATER.    SLOP    AND    SWILL  415 

many  clams  out.  The  necessary  height  of  this  will  de- 
pend upon  the  size  of  the  spillway  and  the  volume  of  the 
water  going-  into  the  pond  at  any  time.  When  figuring 
on  the  height,  allowance  must  he  made  for  the  embank- 
ment settling  six  to  ten  inches  where  the  Ijank  is  eight 
to  12  feet  deep.  In  building  up  the  embankment  the 
earth  should  Ije  put  on  in  uniform  layers  regularly 
placed,  keeping  the  bank  about  level.  This  will  insure 
more  uniform  settling  or  packing  of  the  earth  and  the 
dam  will  not  be  as  apt  to  leak.  While  the  embankment 
is  new  it  is  easily  washed  down  on  the  inside  of  the 
pond  by  the  \\a\-es.  In  a  few  months,  half  of  a  good- 
sized  dam  has  been  cut  down  and  washed  back  into  the 
pond  in  this  way.  It  is  true  that  this  washing  down 
by  the  waves  continues  year  after  year,  so  the  in- 
side of  the  dam  should  be  set  to  Bermuda  grass  and 
water  sedges  and  willows  at  once.  But  to  protect  the 
bank  until  the  willows  and  grass  get  a  start  it  should 
be  riprapped  with  brush  or  old  boards,  if  possible.  The 
Bermuda  grass  will  make  a  fine  covering  for  the  top  and 
outside  of  the  dam  as  well,  and  should  be  put  on  when 
the  dam  is  built. 

"The  spillway  or  overflow  should  be  large  enough  to 
insure  the  water  in  the  time  of  a  freshet  being  taken  care 
of  without  going  over  the  top  of  the  dam.  Where  pos- 
sible, the  spillway  should  be  on  the  undisturbed  soi?,  so 
as  to  prevent  as  much  as  possible,  washing  out. 
AMierever  placed,  it  should  be  well  sodded  with  Bermuda 
grass  or  some  other  plant  that  will  bind  the  soil  and  keep 
it  from  eroding.  WHiere  ponds  are  located  below  cul- 
tivated fields,  considerable  difficulty  will  be  experienced 


4l6  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

oecause  of  the  soil  washing  in  and  filling  up  the  pond. 
Such  trouble  may  be  obviated  to  a  large  degree  by  so  con- 
structing the  pond  that  the  spillway  will  be  at  the  back 
end  of  the  pond  where  the  water  enters  it.  This  can  be 
done  by  extending  wings  out  on  either  or  both  ends  of 
the  dam.  A  pond  so  constructed  does  not  allow  the  cur- 
rent of  water  carrying  the  wash  to  flow  into  the  pond  and 
deposit  the  soil  there.  Instead,  the  current  flows  around 
the  pond  and  carries  the  sediment  with  it  or  deposits  it 
at  the  mouth  of  the  pond,  where  it  does  no  harm. 

"Generally  the  pond  should  l)e  fenced  as  soon  as  com- 
pleted and  all  stock  kept  out.  The  pond  fence  should  be 
such  that  it  will  turn  all  kinds  of  stock,  including  little 
pigs,  if  the  pond  is  near  the  barns.  It  is  advisable  to 
leave  quite  a  margin  between  the  pond  and  the  fence, 
which  can  be  set  to  trees.  In  such  a  location,  the  trees 
will  make  a  fine  growth. 

"In  locating  a  pond,  many  think  it  must  be  in  a  ravine 
where  a  torrent  of  water  runs  when  it  rains.  Really,  a 
better  place  is  where  there  is  a  gentle  swale  in  the  field. 
It  may  require  handling  a  little  more  earth  in  building  in 
tlie  latter  place,  but  it  will  not  be  as  apt  to  fill  up  and  can 
be  better  controlled.  By  taking  the  earth  out  of  the  bot- 
tom to  build  the  banks,  a  deep  pond  can  be  made,  which 
fs  desirable.  The  tank  should  be  supplied  with  a  float 
valve  so  that  the  tank  is  kept  full  at  all  times.  For  such 
a  place  an  eight  or  ten-barrel  tank  is  large  enough." 

A   CHEAP   HOG   WATERER 

James  A.  Pulley,  an  Iowa  hog  raiser,  uses  a  home- 
made device  for  watering,  which  he  describes  as  follows : 


WATER.    SI.Ol'    AMI    SWD.L  417 

"I  have  a  galvanized  sheet  iron  pan  2  feet  square  and 
6  inches  deep,  flaring  a  little  at  the  top.  Take  a  tight 
oil  barrel  and  w^ith  a  5-8  inch  bit,  bore  two  holes  in  the 
side  so  that  when  the  barrel  is  placed  in  the  pan  the  holes 
will  be  I  inch  below  the  pan's  top.  Bore  a  2-inch 
liole  in  tlie  top  of  the  barrel.  Place  the  barrel  in  the 
pan,  cork  tightly  the  two  holes  at  the  bottom,  and  hll  the 
barrel  with  water.  Then  cork  the  hole  at  the  top  and 
pull  out  the  corks  below.  The  water  will  run  into  the 
l)an,  co\-er  the  holes  at  the  bottom,  and  will  then  stop 
until  lowered  by  drinking  again.  The  pan  should  sit 
level  on  a  platform  live  or  six  feet  square.  The  hogs 
will  drink  at  the  corners.  I  have  used  three  different 
kinds  of  patent  hog  waterers,  but  this  is  better  than  all, 
and  cheaper." 

SLOP,    AND    ITS   ADVANTAGES 

There  is  a  wide  difference  between  slop  and  swill. 
Slop  is  properly  a  hog's  relish,  while  swill  is  too  fre- 
quently nothing  more  than  water  polluted  with  unhealth- 
ful  refuse.  The  term  swill  may  embrace  a  wide  variety 
of  feed  or  drink,  ranging  from  ordinary  dishwater  to 
a  mixture  of  milk,  table  scraps,  soapsuds  and  other 
kitchen  refuse,  while  slop  is  a  combination  of  a  ground 
feed  or  feeds,  with  water  or  milk.  A  supply  of  whole- 
some swill  it!  connection  with  other  feeds  may  be  ex- 
tremely valuable,  but  in  a  condition  of  decay,  rancid, 
and  mainly  filth,  it  may  result  in  a  loss  of  high-priced 
animals.  Slop,  however,  may  be  considered  as  always  in 
order. 


b^ 


4l8  SWINli    IX    AMERICA 

As  a  rule,  a  thick  slop  is  in  various  ways  of  greater 
feeding  value  than  that  which  contains  a  large  proportion 
of  water.  "We  favor  the  practice  of  feeding  thick  slop 
to  hogs,''  says  James  Atkinson,  ''for  the  reason  that  there 
is  no  special  advantage  in  compelling  a  hog  to  take  a  lot 
of  water  into  his  system  in  order  to  get  enough  food. 
One  is  more  apt  to  throw  a  hog's  digestive  system  out 
of  order  feeding  thin  slop  than  is  the  case  where  the 
slop  is  thick,  for  the  reason  that  there  is  not  the  same 
opportunity  for  the  fluids  of  the  mouth  to  act  on  the 
starchy  part  of  the  food.  In  cold  weather  it  is  especially 
desirable  that  only  thick  slop  be  fed.  because  nothing  can 
be  worse  than  to  fill  a  hog  up  with  a  lot  of  water  for 
which  his  system  has  no  use." 

EFFECT    OF   WATER   IX   SLOP 

The  question  as  to  how  thin  slop  should  be  made  was 
taken  up  in  an  experiment  at  the  Indiana  station  (Bul- 
letin No.  86),  in  which  i6  pure-bred  Chester  White  and 
Berkshire  pigs  were  divided  into  four  lots  of  equal  num- 
ber and  fed  varying  rations.  Lot  one  was  given  the  food 
dry  in  the  trough ;  lot  two  the  grain  mixed  'with  its 
weight  of  water,  and  lots  three  and  four  were  given 
grain  mixed  with  twice  and  three  times  its  weight  of 
water  respectively.  Each  lot  was  also  provided  all  the 
additional  water  they  would  drink,  and  was  furnished 
salt  and  ashes.  The  feed  used  was  a  mixture  of  equal 
parts  of  corn  meal  and  shorts  for  the  first  of  the  experi- 
ment, and  hominy  feed  was  substituted  for  the  corn 
meal  in  the  last  month.  The  experiment  began  in  Janu- 
ary and  was  continued  146  days.    The  average  weight  of 


Tamwoi'tli  Sow,  Verty  Queen  3901 

Grand  champion  at  World's  Fair,  St.  Louis,  1£ 


A  Tamworth  Gilt 


WATER,    SLur    AND    SWILL 


419 


eacli  pig  in  the  beginning  was  about  60  pounds.  The 
average  daily  gain  and  feed  per  pound  of  gain  was  as 
follows : 


Average  daily 
gain,  pounds. 

Feed  per 
pound,  pounds. 

Cost  per  pound 
of  gain,  cents. 

L„t  1 

1.08 
1.10 
1.10 
1.05 

3.59 
3.80 
3.74 
3.75 

2.87 

Lot  2      

3.04 

Lot  3                           

2.99 

3.00 

In  summarizing  results,  the  report  on  this  said :  "There 
was  no  material  difference  in  the  appearance  of  the  pigs 
in  either  lot,  so  far  as  quality  is  concerned,  and  so  far 
as  this  one  experiment  goes  the  use  of  about  twice 
the  amount  of  water  to  grain  indicated  a  satisfactory  pro- 
portion. In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  pigs  fed  dry  grain 
made  slightly  the  best  gains,  it  would  appear  that  there 
is  really  no  gain  in  feeding  the  pigs  a  slop  instead  of  a 
dry  grain,  excepting  as  the  feeder  may  regard  it  a  matter 
of  convenience." 

DANGER    IN   HOTEL   AND   KITCHEN   SWILL 


If  refuse  from  the  kitchens  of  hotels,  restaurants,  and 
such  places  is  available,  the  hog  raiser  who  desires  to 
utilize  this  as  a  feed  should  remember  that  it  is  of  value 
only  when  care  is  taken  that  it  contains  no  material  which 
will  unfavorably  affect  his  hogs.  Broken  dishes  or  glass 
and  other  dangerous  substances  are  frequently  thrown 
in  with  kitchen  scraps  and  if  the  dishwater  is  not  kept 
separate,  the  washing  powders  and  cheap  soaps  so  often 
used  in  it  are  likely  to  have  harmful  effects.     These  are 


i 


420  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

sometimes  serious  enough  to  suggest  an  outbreak  of 
cholera,  and  instances  are  referred  to  in  a  bulletin  en- 
titled "Powdered  Soap  as  a  Cause  of  Death  Among 
Swill-Fed  Hogs,"  issued  by  the  Cornell  experiment  sta- 
tion (Bulletin  No.  141).  These  cases  led  to  experi- 
ments with  powdered  soap,  which  showed  conclu- 
sively that  swill-fed  hogs  were  poisoned  by  being 
given  dishwater  containing  washing  powders  used  in 
kitchens.  The  soap  powders  contain  from  50  to  55  per 
cent  carbonate  of  sodium,  or  what  is  known  to  the  trade 
as  sal  soda  or  washing  soda. 

The  following  conclusions  were  reached :  "In  view  of 
this  danger,  it  seems  better  to  abandon  altogether  the 
habit  of  giving  dishwater  to  hogs.  Although  the  feed- 
ing of  garbage  is  generally  condemned,  the  scraps  of 
vegetables  and  table  refuse  could,  perhaps,  if  properly 
collected,  be  used  with  safety.  But  certainly  pure  water 
is  a  much  more  wholesome  drink,  even  for  swine,  than 
dirty  dishwater.  When  the  subject  of  'swill  feeding' 
as  a  business  is  studied,  and  the  conditions  as  they  exist 
are  understood,  the  wonder  is,  not  that  some  of  the  hogs 
die,  but  rather  that  any  of  them  live. 

"It  is  not  presumed  that  the  poisoning  by  carbonate  of 
sodium  is  the  only  cause  of  death  among  swill-fed  hogs. 
Other  destructive  agencies  are  liable  to  be  found  in  the 
decomposing  garbage  and  swill  collected  from  the 
sources  mentioned.  This  is  significant  and  it  points  to 
the  undesirableness  of  feeding  garbage  to  animals.  In 
fact,  if  the  total  losses  it  occasions  are  counted,  it  is 
questionable  if  anything  is  gained  in  this  attempt  to  save 
waste  products.    Again,  it  has  long  been  recognized  that 


WATER,    SLOP    AND    SWILL  4^1 

the  feeding  of  garbage  to  hogs  furnishes  one  of  the  most 
fa\orable  channels  for  the  introduction  of  hog  cholera 
and  swine  plague  bacteria.  As  a  rule,  wherever  we  find 
hogs  in  clean,  well-ventilated  pens  and  fed  upon  whole- 
some food,  we  find  thrift  and  health,  and,  conversely, 
where  these  animals  are  surrounded  with  disgusting 
filth  and  fed  upon  decomposing  swill  or  other  unwhole- 
-sonie  food,  we  expect  to,  and  often  do,  find  disease." 

SUCCESS  WITH  HOTEL  REFUSE 

There  are,  nevertheless,  authorities  who  believe  that 
hotel  and  restaurant  refuse  may  ht  so  carefully  sorted  as 
to  be  valuable.  This  is  the  opinion  of  L.  N.  Bonham, 
who  says : 

"The  table  and  kitchen  waste  of  hotels  and  restau- 
rants contains  so  much  valuable  feed  that  may  become  a 
real  bonanza  to  one  who  has  the  skill  to  handle  it  suc- 
cessfully, that  we  have  taken  some  pains  to  look  up  the 
experience  of  several  feeders.  In  each  case  their  first 
efforts  were  discouraging.  One  man  has  been  in  the  busi- 
ness five  years;  he  began  by  hauling  the  refuse  from 
hotels  and  restaurants  in  a  water-tight  tank.  This  he 
abandoned  for  covered  barrels,  that  he  might  better  as- 
sort the  feed.  He  also  paid  the  cooks  and  dish-washers 
to  induce  them  to  throw  the  dishwater,  broken  glass, 
empty  cans,  lye  and  the  like  into  one  barrel  and  the  table 
scraps  and  kitchen  trimmings  into  another  barrel.  He 
carefully  examined  all,  and  used  only  that  which  he 
deemed  suitable,  and  the  rest  was  thrown  into  a  sewer. 
He  was  exceedingly  careful  in  the  beginning  to  feed 
newly  purchased  animals  only  a  small  quantity  of  the 


422  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

hotel  refuse,  along  with  dry  corn.  After  ten  days  or  two 
weeks  they  were  given  no  corn.  He  found  that  even 
brood  sows  on  this  feed  farrowed  strong  litters  and 
suckled  them  well.  If  a  sow  gets  too  much,  the  pigs 
scour  in  a  day  or  two  thereafter.  By  good  judgment  and 
care  not  to  overfeed,  and  to  see  that  the  feed  is  not  too 
washy,  his  sows  turn  off  strong  litters.  He  supplements 
the  hotel  feed  with  bran  or  middlings  and  corn,  as 
needed.    He  saves  the  best  for  the  sows  and  pigs. 

"The  feeder  in  question  is  careful  to  have  plenty  of 
trough  room,  and  advises  a  board  or  cement  floor  about 
the  troughs,  as  the  hogs  will  even  eat  the  earth  saturated 
with  the  juices  of  meat.  In  winter  he  feeds  clover  hay, 
and  in  very  cold  weather  adds  some  corn.  He  advises 
finishing  by  feeding  both  corn  and  hotel  refuse  the  last 
four  weeks.  In  winter  the  swill  is  fed  warm.  In  sum- 
mer all  slop  is  kept  well  covered  from  flies.  He  gets 
three  to  four  barrels  of  swill  a  day,  turns  off  125  fat  hogs 
annually,  and  buys  only  one  boar  each  year.  He  is  care- 
ful to  watch  for  paper,  strings,  broken  glass  and  crock- 
ery that  might  be  in  the  swill.  He  says  his  hogs  never 
choke  on  bones.  He  finds  he  does  not  need  to  feed  salt 
and  ashes  or  use  any  lice-killers.  The  alkali  and  the 
grease  in  the  slop  keep  down  vermin." 

SAVILL    FOR    BROOD    SOWS 

Danger  to  pregnant  sows  sometimes  lurks  in  swill  and 
kitchen  refuse.  A.  J-  Lovejoy  says :  'T  have  known  of 
cases  where  sows  during  the  breeding  season  were  fed 
such  refuse  and  not  one  of  them  could  be  got  in  pig." 


WATER,    SLUP    AND    SWILL  423 

Here  is  a  troug-h,  with  guards,  described  in  the  Iowa 
Register  and  Farmer.  It  is  made  preferably  of  2-inch 
planks,   12  to  14  inches  wide.     For  the  guards,  planks 


ONE  STYLE  OF  PARTITIONED  TROUGH 

are  cut  to  4  or  5  feet  in  length,  and  the  proper  slant  ob- 
tained by  sawing  from  the  corner  edge  of  one  end  to  the 


OTHER    STYLES    OF    PARTITIONED    WOOD    AND    CAST    IRON 
TROUGHS 

opposite  corner  edge  of  the  other  end,  after  which  the 
wide  end  is  cut  out  as  shown,  to  fit  the  shape  of  the 
trough,  to  which  it  is  securely  toe-nailed.     The  front  is 


424  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

fastened  to  a  plank  or  heavy  board,  running  full  length 
of  the  trough,  and  against  which  the  guard-ends  face. 
The  spout  through  which  slop  is  emptied  into  the  trough 


A  GOOD  STATIONARY  TROUGH   WITH   PLATFORM 

is  made  of  one-inch  boards,  with  the  upper,  or  receiving, 
end  large  enough  to  take  the  three-quarter  circle  of  a 
large  bucket.  This  rests  on  the  top  of  the  guard  face- 
board,  which  is  slightly  notched  to  receive  it,  and  is  held 
up  by  legs  nailed  to  the  side,  and  reaching  to  the  floor. 


A  WELL-PROTECTED  TROUGH 


The  sketch  illustrated  above  shows  a  very  simple  but 
useful  stationary  trough,  with  a  three  or  four-foot  feed- 
ing platform  adjacent.     It  is  nailed  to  the  4x4  posts, 


WATER,    SLOP    AND    SWILL  425 

which  have  holes  in  them  for  bolts,  and  a  hole  in  each  end 
of  the  six  or  eight-inch  partition  board  for  the  l)o]ts, 
which  will  hold  it  higlier  or  lower  as  may  be  necessary 
according-  to  the  size  of  the  hogs,  to  preven  their  climlj- 
ing  over. 


AN  INVERTIBLE  TROUGH 

The  trough  shown  above  is  one  that  is  firmly  fas- 
tened in  place  and  at  the  same  time  it  can  be  turned 
over  for  cleaning.  It  can  be  made  of  two  planks,  one 
6  inches  wide  and  the  other  7  inches,  each  6  feet  long, 
and  for  the  ends  two  6-inch  boards  each  2^^  feet  long. 
Fasten  these  between  two  stakes  with  a  bolt.  Cut  the 
lower  side  of  one  of  the  ends  off  round,  so  that  it  can  be 


A  HANGING  GATE  OVER  A  TROUGH 


426 


SWINE   IN   AMERICA 


turned  over  readily.  For  large  hogs  this  trough  should 
be  made  larger  and  heavier  than  for  pigs  or  shotes. 

The  next  figure  illustrates  a  useful  hanging  gate  to 
prevent  hogs  from  clambering  into  the  trough  and  buck- 
ets when  being  slopped.  The  gate  and  trough  can  be 
placed  between  two  panels  of  fence,  and  will  serve  in 
lieu  of  a  panel. 

This  illustration  is  of  an  unbreakable,  indestructible 
trough  made  of  i-8-inch-thick  boiler  steel.  It  is  made 
5  feet  long,  13  inches  wide  and  7  inches  deep,  or  larger. 
It  is  kept  on  sale  by  dealers  in  such  goods. 


AN   UNBREAKABLE  TROUGH 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Swine  Rearing  with  Dairying 

Where  dairies  or  butter  factories  are,  or  where  the 
milch  cow  is  a  factor  for  other  purposes  than  the  sale  of 
milk  as  such,  the  pig  is  a  most  useful  and  profitable  ad- 
junct. Upon  the  skim  milk,  judiciously  used  with  other 
and  more  substantial  foods,  he  thrives,  grows  and  fat- 
tens, utilizing  a  by-product  of  tremendous  volume  which 
without  the  pig  would  represent  little  of  available  value. 
It  is  said  that  the  skim  milk  from  the  butter  factories  of 
Xew  York  alone  amounts  to  nearly  a  billion  pounds  in  a 
single  year.  The  use  of  this  skim  milk  does  much  to 
give  relief  from  monotony  so  common  in  the  hog's  feed- 
ing, besides  adding  to  the  returns  from  the  other  or  main 
foods  with  wiiich  it  is  given,  and  every  hog  raiser  is  glad 
to  have  it. 

VATAE    OF    SKIM    MILK    AND    BUTTERMILK 

The  editor  of  Hoard's  Dairyman  has  formulated  a 
simple  rule  for  estimating  the  value  of  skim  milk.  He 
says :  "To  get  at  the  value  of  skim  milk  in  pig  feeding, 
if  used  alone,  multiply  five  pounds  of  gain  by  the  price 
of  live  weight  pork  in  the  local  market;  or  if  fed  in 
conjunction  with  corn  or  barley  meal,  credit  one  pound 
of  the  increased  gain  to  the  skim  milk.  If  pork  is  worth 
five  cents  a  pound  on  foot,  we  have  25  cents  a  100  pounds 


428  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

for  tne  skim  milk  when  fed  alone;  or,  if  fed  in  conjunc- 
tion with  corn  or  barley  meal,  six  pounds  of  gain,  or  30 
cents  a  100  pounds." 

This  is  based  on  the  estimates  that  a  bushel  of  corn 
meal  or  corn  will  return  ten  pounds  of  pork  and  that  20 
pounds  of  skim  milk,  fed  alone,  will  yield  one  pound  of 
pork.  It  takes  into  consideration  also  the  interesting 
fact  that  if  a  bushel  of  corn  alone  will  make  ten  pounds 
of  pork,  and  100  pounds  of  skim  milk  by  itself  will  give 
five  pounds  of  pork,  the  two  combined  will,  on  an  aver- 
age, produce  18  pounds  instead  of  15  pounds  of  pork. 
This  peculiar  and  valuable  effect  has  been  noticed  by 
many  feeders,  but  has  never  been  precisely  explained.  It 
is  surmised,  however,  that  the  combination  acts  to  stim- 
ulate the  appetite  and  digestion  so  that,  in  the  end,  a 
larger  proportion  of  the  feed  is  digested  or  assimilated. 

Skim  milk  and  buttermilk  are  considered  of  practically 
equal  feeding  value  except  for  extremely  young  animals. 
The  prices  at  which  they  are  sold  by  butter  factories  and 
skim  stations  depend  much  upon  locality  and  conditions, 
and  range  from  about  seven  to  25  cents  per  100  pounds. 
Aside  from  the  fat,  the  quantity  of  digestible  nutrients  in 
either  is  about  equivalent  to  that  in  the  cow's  milk,  which, 
when  of  average  quality,  contains  3^^  per  cent  of  protein 
and  5  per  cent  of  carbohydrates. 

It  will  be  seen  that  as  skim  milk  affords  less  than  ten 
per  cent  of  digestible  matter,  it  must,  by  itself,  be  an 
unsatisfactory  and  insufficient  food.  This  has  been 
proved  by  numerous  experiments.  Those  made  at  the 
Utah  station  (Bulletin  No.  57)  showed  that  "from  the 
standpoint  of  quick  returns,  the  milk  and  grain  ration 


Illinois  Experiiueiit   Station   Hog   House — Exterior 


I. 


Illinois    E\iieriinent    Station    Hog    House — Interior 


Individual    Hog   House    at    the   Illinois    Experiment    Station- 
Set  Up 


Individual   Hog   House   at   the   Illinois    Experiment    Station- 
Taken  Down 


SWINE    REARING    WITH    DAIRYING 


429 


would  enable  a  person  to  turn  over  two  crops  of  hogs  to 
one  when  the  hogs  were  fed  on  milk  alone."  The  Utah 
station  made  seven  experiments  comparing  grain  and 
milk  rations  with  others  of  milk  alone  and  grain  alone, 
embracing  tests  with  grain  in  several  combinations  with 
the  milk.  The  grain  used  was  equal  parts  of  corn  and 
wheat,  corn  meal  and  wheat  bran,  wheat  and  bran,  barley 
and  wheat  bran,  and  also  ground  wheat  alone.  The  grain 
or  meal  used  alone  was  made  into  a  thin  slop  with  water. 
The  experiments  were  conducted  at  different  periods  of 
the  year,  mainly  in  summer  and  autumn.  In  addition 
to  the  grain  or  milk  rations,  the  hogs  had  plenty  of 
water,  with  access  to  charcoal  and  wood  ashes ;  they 
were  fed  twice  daily.  A  comparison  of  the  various  ra- 
tions of  skim  milk  alone,  milk  and  grain  together, 
and  grain  alone  is  given  in  the  following  summary  of 
the  Utah  experiments  : 


COMPARISONS    OF    SKIM    MILK    FEEDING 


Ration 

Number 
of  tests. 

Number 
of  pigs. 

Average 
weight  at 
beginning. 

Average 
gain. 

Number 

01"  davs 

fed.' 

Average 
daily 
gain. 

Milk  and  grain 

8 
5 

4 

27 
IS 
11 

Pounds 
40 
63 
39 

Pounds 
169 
110 

74 

133 
121 
108 

Pounds 

1.27 

Milk 

68 

Milk  and  grain 

Grain 

MUk 


Feed  eaten  per 
100  pounds  gain. 


Pounds  Pounds 

292      I  768 

470  

I  3,312 


Dry  mat- 
ter per 

100 

pounds 

gain. 


Pounds 
334 
421 
298 


Digesti- 
ble dry 
matter 
per  100 
l>ounds 
gain. 


100 

pounds 
milk 
equal 

pounds 
gain. 


Pounds  !  Pound.s 
258  23.2 

319  

28S  14.2 


Average  amount 

feed  eaten  per 

dav. 


Pounds 
3.73 
4.41 


Pounds 
9.74 


430  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

Regarding  the  feeding  of  skim  milk  on  the  farm,  J. 
H.  Denham,  a  Michigan  farmer,  has  made  the  follow- 
ing suggestions:  ''Hog  farming  in  connection  with  dairy 
farming,  when  the  skim  milk  can  be  kept  at  home,  is  a 
wonderfully  remunerative  side  line  for  the  farmer,  espe- 
cially where  careful  methods  of  feeding  are  practiced. 
When  skim  milk  is  carried  out  promiscuously  and  thrtnvn 
in  a  trough  and  the  hogs  are  allowed  to  fill  themselves 
with  the  sweet,  pure  skim  milk,  I  do  not  esteem  it  of 
much  value,  probably  ten  cents  per  loo  pounds  would  be 
the  limit,  while  I  feel  sure  from  my  own  experience  that 
with  about  30  cents'  worth  of  good  judgment  along  with 
the  100  pounds  of  skim  milk,  it  is  worth  40  cents.  Now 
30  cents'  worth  of  judgment  without  the  skim  milk  would 
not  do  any  better  than  ten  cents'  worth  of  skim  milk 
without  the  judgment — they  should  be  mixed,  and  how  to 
mix  them  is  what  every  farmer  should  try  to  get  at. 

"For  feeding,  say,  12  head  of  100-pound  shotes,  I  take 
a  50-gallon  barrel,  well  protected  from  the  weather — 
which  it  can  be  by  setting  it  either  in  the  cellar  or  the 
ground,  or  encasing  it  with  a  box  filled  around  the  bar- 
rel with  sawdust — and  well  covered.  The  latter  way  I 
like  well  in  the  summer  season.  Now  take  a  ten-gallon 
can  of  milk — either  skim  milk  or  buttermilk  will  do — and 
to  this  add  one  bushel  of  white  (wheat)  middlings,  and 
after  stirring  well,  add  about  20  gallons  of  water. 

"To  get  the  best  results,  keep  warm  in  winter  and  cool 
in  summer.  Feed  to  12  100-pound  shotes  about  five 
gallons  of  this  three  times  a  day,  with  a  little  corn,  night 
and  morning — and  be  sure  after  each  feeding  to  replenish 
the  barrel  with  middlings  and  milk  and  water,  to  keep 


SWINE    REARING    WITH    DAIRYING  43 1 

the  mess  of  about  the  same  consistency  as  at  first.  At 
tlie  noon  hour,  water  and  middhngs  alone  may  be  addetl, 
unless  you  have  plenty  of  milk.  Regularity  in  feeding 
hours  and  in  quality  and  quantity  of  feed  should  he  Dis- 
served. 

"I  have  no  hesitancy  in  saying  that  the  skim  milk  used 
in  this  mixture  will  return  to  the  feeder  40  cents  for 
every  100  pounds  of  skim  milk  or  buttermilk  used,  more 
than  the  other  ingredients  would  without  it." 

DAIRY    BY-PRODUCTS   AND    CARBONACEOUS   FEEDS 

A  steady  routine  of  carbonaceous  feeding  stuffs  pro- 
duces listless,  unthrifty  pigs.  When  skim  milk  or 
buttermilk  is  at  hand  a  means  of  offering  variety  is 
afforded  wliich  will  give  the  pigs  a  better  appetite  and 
induce  them  to  eat  more  fat-making  food  than  would 
otherwise  be  the  case.  If  skim  milk  is  available  to  form 
a  ration  with  corn  meal,  either  with  or  without  other 
feeds,  it  will  make  a  N-aluable  and  economical  addition. 
This  has  been  confirmed  by  numerous  tests  at  the  agricul- 
tural colleg-e  experiment  stations,  some  of  which  have  ex- 
tended through  a  number  of  years. 

The  relation  between  corn  meal  and  skim  milk  in  ra- 
tions with  and  without  the  addition  of  wheat  middlings 
was  brought  out  in  experiments  at  the  Cornell  station 
(Bulletin  No.  199),  covering  a  period  of  four  years.  The 
amount  of  feed  required  for  100  pounds  of  gain  was  as 
follows : 


432 


SWINE  IN   AMERICA 


FEEDING     RELATIONS    OF    SKIM     MILK, 
MIDDLINGS 


CORN     MEAL    AND 


Number 
of  tests. 

Number 
of  pigs. 

Feed  required  for 
100  pounds  gain. 

Ration. 

Grain. 

Milk. 

Com  meal  and  milk 

Com  meal,  middlings  and  milk.  .  .  . 

17 

81 

52 

Pounds 
273 
223 

Pounds 
1,016 
1,069 

In  two  years  of  experiments  comparing  the  feeding 
of  corn  meal  alone  and  with  skim  milk,  the  Tennessee 
station  fomid  (Bulletin  No.  3,  Volume  XVI)  that  the 
profit  when  skim  milk  was  used  with  corn  meal  was  much 
greater  than  without  it,  despite  the  fact  that  the  first  cost 
was  larger  when  the  skim  milk  was  added.  In  the  fol- 
lowing summary  of  the  Tennessee  experiments,  corn 
meal  is  figured  at  an  average  price  of  $23.50  per  ton, 
and  skim  milk  at  $4  per  ton: 

RESULTS    FROM    CORN    MEAL    WITH    AND    WITHOUT    SKIM 
MILK 


Number 
of  piKS. 

Total 
gain. 

Average 
daily 
gain. 

Total  feed  eaten. 

Ration. 

Grain. 

Milk. 

7 
7 

Pounds 
119 
309 

Pounds 
0.50 
1.35 

Pounds 
489 
481 

Pounds 

Com  meal  and  skin 

1  milk 

3.(,86 

Ration. 

Feed  per  100 
pounds  gain. 

Total 

cost  of 

feed. 

Cost  of 

feed  per 

100  pounds 

gain. 

Profit 
per 

Grain. 

Milk. 

group." 

Corn  meal 

Pounds 
410 
160 

Pounds 
1,196 

$S.7S 
12.95 

$5.80 
4.60 

$1.05 

Corn  meal  and  skim  milk 

4.96 

Value  of  manure  and  cost  of  care  not  considered. 


SVVINK    REARING    WITH    DAIRYING  433 

Previous  experiments  at  the  Tennessee  station  (Bul- 
letin No.  I,  Volume  XV)  had  been  made  to  compare  corn 
meal  with  other  rations  involving  skim  milk  and  whey. 
The  first  lot  in  the  following  table  was  fed  a  ration  of 
12  pounds  of  corn  meal  and  20  pounds  of  water,  which 
was  increased  to  16  pounds  of  corn  meal  and  2,2  pounds 
of  water  later  on.  The  second  lot  was  given  12  pounds 
of  corn  meal  and  36  pounds  of  skim  milk  a  day  at  first, 
and  16  pounds  of  corn  meal  with  80  pounds  of  skim  milk 
toward  the  end  of  the  experiment.  The  third  lot  was 
given  a  daily  ration  during  the  early  part  of  the  test  of 
eight  pounds  of  corn  meal  and  24  pounds  of  skim 
milk,  which  was  later  changed  to  y/2  pounds  of 
wheat  meal,  I2j/^  pounds  of  corn  meal  and  80  pounds 
of  whey.  The  first  ration  of  the  last  lot  was  com- 
posed of  5  1-3  pounds  of  corn  meal,  eight  pounds 
of  cowpea  hay,  and  16  pounds  of  skim  milk;  this  was 
changed  to  11  pounds  of  corn  meal;  three  pounds  of 
chopped  cowpea  hay,  and  53^^  pounds  of  skim  milk. 
The  last  lot  proved  an  unprofitable  one,  but  the  experi- 
ments demonstrated  the  high  value  of  dairy  by-products 
in  connection  with  corn  and  wheat  meals.  The  pigs 
averaged  about  135  pounds  at  the  beginning  of  the  tests, 
when  they  were  bought  on  the  market  at  4^  cents 
a  pound.  They  were  sold  for  5)^  cents  a  pound,  and  at 
that  price  it  was  estimated  that  66.7  cents  per  bushel  was 
received  for  the  corn  used.  In  the  following  summary 
of  results,  skim  milk  was  valued  at  22  cents  per  100 
pounds,  and  whey  at  half  that  sum.  with  the  following 
prices  per  ton  for  the  other  feeds :  Corn  meal,  $17 ;  wheat 
meal.  $25;  cowpea  hay,  $13.50. 


434 


SWINE   IN    AMERICA 


RESULTS   WITH    SKIM-MILK   AND  WHEY 


Ration. 

Number 

of 

pigs. 

Total 
gain. 

Number 

of  days 

fed. 

Average 
daily 
gain. 

Total 

dry 

matter 

eaten. 

Dry 
matter 
per  100 
pounds 

gain. 

3 
3 

3 

Pounds 
186 
414 

402 

246 

60 
60 

60 

60 

Pounds 

1 
2.3 

2,2 

2.0 

Pounds 

775 

1.213 

1,090 

1,017 

Pounds 
416 

Corn  meal  and  skim  milk 
Mi.xcd  grain,  skim  milk 

293 
271 

Com  meal,  cowpea  hay 
and  skim  milk 

414 

Total 
cost  of 
feed. 

Cost  of 

feed 

per  100 

pounds 

gain. 

Net 
profit.' 

Slaughter  test. 

Ration. 

Dressed 
weight. 

Intes- 
tinal fat. 

Com  meal 

Com  meal  and  skim  milk 

Mixed  grain,  skim  milk  and  whey. . 
Corn  meal,  cowpea  hay,  skim  milk 

$7.39 
17.61 
13,84 
12.97 

$3.90 
4.20 
3.40 
5.20 

$7.69 
12.06 
14,89 

4.12 

Per  cent 
73.6 
78.5 
76.2 
77.7 

Pounds 
13 
16 
16 
9 

Value  of  manure  and  cost  of  care  and  feed  considered. 


American  experimental  work  with  skim  milk  for 
swine,  as  conducted  up  to  1903,  is  treated  at  length  in 
Part  II  of  Bulletin  No.  47  of  the  Bureau  of  Animal 
Industry,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  and 
the  four  foregoing  tables  are  the  results  of  summaries 
made  by  Rommel  for  that  bulletin. 


SKIM  MILK  WITH  OTHER  FEEDS 

The  beneficial  effect  of  skim  milk  on  digestion  is  ob- 
served when  it  is  made  a  ration  with  other  feeds  than 
corn.  Numerous  experiments  on  this  line  have  been 
conducted  at  the  Central  experimental  farm  of  Canada 
(Bulletin  No.  33),  and  these  are  summarized  in  the 
following  tables  on  pages  435,  436  and  437. 


View  of  A.  T.  Garth's  Cement  Block  Hog  House 


Illinois  Experiment  Station  Hog  House  with  Sloping  Roof 


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SWINE    REARING    WITH    DAIRYING  435 

The  meal  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  table  was  equal 
parts  b}'  weight  of  ground  wheat,  barley,  rye  and  wheat 
bran.  One  of  the  conclusions  from  these  experiments 
was  that  "skim  milk  is  a  most  valuable  adjunct  to  the 
grain  ration  when  hard  flesh  is  desired."  It  was  found 
"in  practically  every  case  that  the  swine  which  had  skim 
milk  as  a  part  of  their  ration  were  healthier  and  more 
Aigorous  than  those  which  had  grain  without  the  skim 
milk." 

Trials  at  the  Hatch  (now  the  Massachusetts)  experi- 
ment station  (Eleventh  Annual  Report)  resulted  in  the 
following  recommendations  of  desirable  rations  in  which 
skim  milk  is  used  for  growing  swine: 

DESIRABLE     RATIONS     FOR     GROWING     PIGS     USING     SKIM 
MILK 


Weight  of  pigs. 


20  to  60  pounds 
60  to  100  pounds 
100  to  180  pounds 


Rations 


3  ounces  of  com  meal  to  each  quart  of  milk. 
6  ounces  of  com  meal  to  each  qviart  of  milk. 
8  ounces  of  corn  meal  to  each  quart  of  milk. 


20  to  60  pounds 
60  to  100  pounds 
100  to  ISO  pounds 


Milk  at  disposal,  plus  mixture  of  one-third  corn  meal,  one-third 
wheat  bran  and  one-third  gluten  meal,  to  satisfy  appetites. 

Milk  at  disposal,  plus  mixture  of  one-half  corn  meal,  one-quarter 
wheat  bran  and  one-quarter  gluten  meal,  to  satisfy  appetites. 

Milk  at  disposal,  plus  mixture  of  two-thirds  corn  meal,  one-sixth 
wheat  bran  and  one-si.xth  gluten  meal,  to  satisfy  appetites. 


SKIM  MILK  VS.  LIXSKEI)  AND  GLUTEN  MEAL 

The  comparative  values  of  skim  milk  and  Hnseetl  and 
gluten  meals  were  tested  in  feeding  swine  at  the  Mary- 
land station  (Bulletin  No.  63).  A  lot  of  six  pigs  was  fed 
hominy  chops,  ground  corn  fodder,  gluten  meal  and  "old 


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438  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

process"  linseed-oil  meal.  Another  lot  of  the  same  num- 
ber was  given  the  same  ration,  except  for  the  substitu- 
tion of  skim  milk  for  the  gluten  and  linseed  meals.  The 
nutritive  ratio  was  practically  the  same  in  the  two  ra- 
tions, but  in  the  ration  in  which  skim  milk  was  mixed 
25  per  cent  less  grain  was  required  than  in  the  other. 
With  the  skim  milk  ration  the  average  daily  gain  was 
1.54  pounds,  and  with  the  other  1.12  pounds. 

SOUR  MELK 

Skim  milk  which  has  soured  may  be  fed  with  good 
results,  and  experiments  seem  to  show  that  if  there  is 
any  difference  in  the  feeding  value  of  sweet  and  sour 
skim  milk,  it  is  probably  in  favor  of  rather  than  against 
the  latter.  This  was  the  case  in  tests  at  the  Vermont 
station  (Sixth  Annual  Report,  p.  49),  where  an  experi- 
ment concluding  two  years  of  investigation  was  sum- 
marized as  follows :  "Four  pigs  on  sweet  skim  milk  dur- 
ing the  growing  period,  from  May  23  to  October  13. 
gained  172,  177,  179  and  187  pounds  respectively,  a  total 
of  715  pounds.  During  the  same  time  the  four  pigs  on 
sour  skim  milk  gained  171,  173,  166,  and  178  pounds,  a 
total  of  688  pounds.  Thus,  in  each  case  the  pig  on  sweet 
milk  gained  more  than  its  mate  on  sour  milk :  an  average 
of  6H,  and  a  total  of  27  pounds.  If  the  experiment  had 
stopped  here,  the  verdict  would  have  been  decidedly  in 
favor  of  sweet  milk,  but  when  the  crowding  for  market 
began,  results  were  just  reversed.  During  the  finishing- 
off  process,  from  October  13  to  November  11,  the  pigs 
on  sweet  milk  gained  yy,  65,  55  and  43  pounds,  a  total 
of  240  pounds;  while  the  pigs  on  sour  milk  gained  82, 


SWINE    KEARIXG    WITH    DAIKVING  439 

yz,  70  and  51  pounds,  a  total  of  275  pounds,  and  a  gain 
over  tlie  pigs  on  sweet  milk  of  35  pounds.  It  follows, 
then,  that  at  the  time  of  killing,  the  two  sets  of  pigs  had 
made  substantially  the  same  gain.  A  queer  fact  de- 
veloped when  the  pigs  were  killed,  and  one  for  which 
no  satisfactory  explanation  has  been  given.  Each  pig 
tiiat  had  been  fed  sweet  milk  shrank  more  in  dressmg 
than  its  mate  on  sour  milk.  The  percentages  of  shrink- 
age for  the  sweet  milk  pigs  were  21,  16,  18  and  19,  an 
average  of  18  per  cent.  The  sour  milk  pigs  shrank  16, 
14,  17  and  II  per  cent,  an  average  of  14,  or  4  per  cent 
less  than  the  pigs  on  sweet  milk.  This  4  per  cent,  or 
about  eight  pounds  per  pig,  represents  the  total  gain 
of  tiie  sour  skim  milk  over  the  sweet  skim  milk.  The 
difference  in  the  results  obtained  from  feeding  sweet 
skim  milk  and  sour  is  so  little  that  not  much  can  be 
claimed  in  favor  of  sour  milk.  Nor  do  we  desire  to 
claim  any  advantage  from  its  use.  The  object  of  the 
experiment  has  been  attained  when  it  is  shown,  as  these 
two  years'  work  do  show  most  conclusively,  that  sour 
skim  milk  is  at  least  equal  in  feeding  value  to  sweet  skim 
milk." 

BUTTERMELK 

Skim  milk  and  buttermilk  are  considered  of  equal 
\alue  for  swine.  This  was  proved  in  tests  by  the  Massa- 
chusetts experiment  station  (Bulletins  Nos.  13  and  18), 
as  has  been  the  case  wherever  tried  elsewhere.  The  com- 
])arison.  however,  refers  to  pure  buttermilk,  and  not  the 
diluted  or  oversalted  product  which  sometimes  comes 
from  the  creamery.     Buttermilk  mixed  with  washings  or 


440  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

otlier  water  is  naturally  of  less  value.  An  example  of 
this  is  had  when,  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  it  is  run  into  a 
tank  and  afterward  pumped  out  or  drawn  from  the  bot- 
tom, for  in  that  event  the  casein  will  be  nearer  the  top 
and  the  bu3^er  will  obtain  more  water  than  he  desires. 
Some  creameries  use  washing  powders  which  are  almost 
certain  to  have  a  poisonous  or  other  harmful  effect.  In 
buying  buttermilk,  the  swine  raiser  should  be  sure  he  is 
getting  that  which  is  undiluted  and  not  unwholesome. 

"To  brood  sows  in  pig,"  says  Professor  Henry,  "do 
not  feed  over  one  pound  of  buttermilk  for  each  two 
pounds  of  grain.  F'or  sows  after  farrowing,  feed  three 
or  four  pounds  of  buttermilk  for  each  pound  of  corn 
meal  given.  For  young  pigs,  feed  the  same  proportions. 
For  fattening  hogs,  do  not  feed  over  two  or  three  pounds 
of  buttermilk  for  each  pound  of  corn  supplied.  Of 
course,  if  the  buttermilk  is  abundant,  one  need  not  worry 
about  utilizing  it  so  closely  as  he  would  if  it  cost  more, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  will  pay  to  keep  a  larger  num- 
ber of  ]](\gs  and  thus  get  better  returns  than  would  fol- 
low with  a  limited  number  of  animals  and  an  excessive 
use  of  buttermilk." 

WHEY 

In  the  manufacture  of  cheese,  most  of  the  casein  and 
fat  are  kept  in  the  cheese  and  the  whey  is  therefore  of 
less  value  for  feeding  than  kindred  by-products.  It  is 
generally  considered  about  half  as  valuable  as  skim  milk. 
In  Henry's  "Feeds  and  Feeding,"  Danish  experiments 
show  1,200  pounds  of  whey  as  equal  to  100  pounds  of 


SWINE    REARING    WITH    DAIRYING  44I 

meal,  but  the  whey  used  was  from  the  manufacture  of 
cheese  from  skim  milk,  and  accordingly,  of  aljout  as 
poor  a  cjuahty  as  could  be  obtained.  Professor  Henry 
lias  averaged  resuhs  at  the  Wisconsin  experiment  station 
and  tlie  Ontario  agricuUural  college  showing  that  785 
pounds  of  whey  will  equal  100  pounds  of  grain.  In  these 
experiments  it  was  found  that  481  pounds  of  grain  pro- 
duced 100  pounds  of  gain  and  303  pounds  of  grain  with 
1,398  pounds  of  whey  produced  100  pounds  of  gain,  so 
that  17S  pounds  of  grain  was  saved  by  the  use  of  1,398 
pounds  of  whey. 

As  to  the  composition  of  whey,  and  its  use,  Henry 
said  :  "Where  full  cream  cheeses  are  made,  100  pounds  of 
whey  contain  about  .7  of  a  pound  of  mineral  matter, 
.3  or  .4  of  a  pound  of  fat,  .5  of  a  pound  of  al1)umen,  a 
little  casein,  and  between  three  and  four  pounds  of  milk 
sugar,  tlic  remainder  ])eing  water.  This  shows  the  food 
to  be  very  watery.  One  great  difficulty  in  using  whey 
arises  from  the  fact  that  it  ferments  easily,  and  the  bar- 
rels or  tanks  in  which  the  whey  is  handled  become  very 
foul  and  often  very  dangerous  to  the  health  of  the  ani- 
mal so  fed.  Overfeeding  will  generally  be  indicated 
by  the  pigs  scouring;  this  should  be  avoided,  even  though 
whey  be  wasted.  With  whey,  feed  corn  or  corn  meal 
and  middlings.  Do  not  grind  the  corn  if  the  pigs  handle 
it  well  otherwise." 

When  whey  is  hauled  to  the  farm,  it  is  not  advisable 
to  use  milk  cans  for  that  purpose,  but  barrels  instead. 
Whey  that  has  fermented,  but  has  not  become  what  is 
known  as  "rotten  sour"  may  often  be  used  as  profitably 
as  sweet  whey.     This  should  not  be  taken  as  a  general 


442  SWINE   liX    AMERICA 

rule  applicable  to  whey  that  is  foul  and  manifestly  unfit 
for  any  use  as  food.  According  to  analyses  at  the  On- 
tario experimental  farm  (Twenty-third  Annual  Report), 
fermentation  in  whey  is  solely  at  the  expense  of  the 
sug-ar  content,  and  merely  a  trace  of  sugar  is  found  in 
sour  whey.  Five  experiments  gave  almost  equally  as 
good  results  with  sour  whey  as  with  sweet,  when  fed  to 
the  hogs.  A  summary  says :  *'A  general  review  of  the 
work,  taking  into  consideration  the  health  of  the  animals, 
their  gains,  the  quality  of  their  flesh,  and  the  compo- 
sition of  the  sweet  and  sour  whey,  seems  to  point  to 
the  conclusion  that  fermentation  does  not  seriously  de- 
tract from  the  value  of  whey  for  pig  feeding." 

Further  experiments  at  the  Ontario  experimental 
farm  (Twenty- fourth  Annual  Report),  gave  evidence  of 
the  value  of  whey  in  producing  firm  bacon,  leading  to 
this  statement :  "The  evil  effects  arising  from  lack  of 
exercise  can  be  overcome  by  the  judicious  use  of  skim 
milk  and  whey.  The  amount  of  whey  recommended  is 
from  two  to  2>^  pounds  to  a  pound  of  meal.  Whey  and 
skim  milk  appear  to  have  a  greater  influence  than  exer- 
cise in  producing  firm  bacon."  This  last  statement,  how- 
ever, was  not  offered  as  a  definite  conclusion. 

A  disadvantage  remarked  in  the  use  of  whey  lies  in  the 
danger  of  lameness  or  crippling  of  hogs  through  over- 
feeding. In  such  cases  the  joints  become  stiff  and  the 
lameness  is  serious.  In  an  experiment  at  the  Ontario  ex- 
perimental farm  (Twenty-third  Annual  Report)  three 
shotes,  averaging  about  130  pounds  each,  were  brought 
gradually  to  a  full  feed  of  two  pounds  of  sweet  whey  to 
one  of  meal.      The  meal   consisted   of  equal   parts   by 


SWINE    REARING    WITH    DAIRYING  443 

weight  01  ground  peas,  barley  and  shorts.  The  animals 
Ijecame  lame  when  full  feed  was  reached,  but  re- 
covered quickly  when  the  quantity  of  whey  was  de- 
creased. A  similar  lot  given  a  like  ration,  except  that 
the  whey  was  sour,  showed  no  lameness.  However,  it 
has  been  learned  by  years  of  experience  that  whey  used 
intelligently  has  a  high  feeding  value,  and  that  hogs  fed 
upon  it  produce  a  high  quality  of  bacon.  A  very  satis- 
factory method  of  feeding  whey  is  to  soak  shorts  or 
finely  ground  chop  in  it  and  feed  three  times  a  day. 
Shorts  forms  the  best  grain  part  of  the  ration  until  the 
hogs  weigh  about  80  ])()unds;  after  that,  ground  ])arley, 
corn  and  oats,  with  the  coarsest  of  the  hulls  removed, 
answer  well.  Many  lOO-acre  dairy  farmers  in  Ontario 
sell  from  $500  to  $800  worth  of  hogs  annually  and 
purchase  comparatively  little  grain.  These  farmers  sell 
practically  no  grain  in  its  raw  state,  with  the  result 
that  their  land  is  becoming  more  productive  year  by  year, 
which  enables  them  to  keep  more  cows  and  feed  them 
better  and  thus  secure  an  increasing  annual  revenue  from 
tlieir  farms.  Farmers  who  send  milk  to  a  cheese  fac- 
tory and  receive  no  revenue  for  the  whey,  either  directly, 
or  from  the  hogs  fed  upon  it  on  their  own  farms,  miss  a 
considerable  profit  that  rightly  should  be  theirs. 

CHANGES  SHOULD  BE  GRADUAL 

Any  change  from  one  kind  of  dairy  by-product  to 
another  should  be  gradual,  notwithstanding  their  being 
derived  from  the  same  base.  This  is  particularly  true 
when  buttermilk  is  sul)stituted  for  skim  milk.  Because 
equally  good  results  may  be  obtained  from  either,  it  does 


444  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

not  follow  that  a  sudden  change  may  be  made  from  one 
to  the  other  without  risk.  When  deemed  economical  to 
substitute  buttermilk  for  skim  milk  the  change  should  be 
watched  carefully.  In  considering  the  economy  of  such 
a  change,  it  should  be  taken  into  account  that  if  the  skim 
milk  is  pasteurized,  its  value  may  be  greater  thereby 
through  lessening  the  danger  of  tuberculosis. 

QUANTITY  IN  FEEDING 

No  economy  results  from  giving  hogs  all  they  will 
drink  of  any  dairy  by-product.  There  is,  in  fact,  con- 
siderable danger  of  giving  too  much,  especially  to  young 
pigs,  aside  from  the  wastefulness  of  the  practice.  "We 
had  the  best  returns,"  said  Professor  Henry,  comment- 
ing on  experiments  at  the  Wisconsin  station,  "when  we 
fed  the  hogs  not  over  three  pounds  of  skim  milk  for  each 
pound  of  corn  meal.  On  the  limited  supply  there  was  a 
larger  profit  from  the  feed  than  if  more  of  the  skim  milk 
was  given.     The  same  will  be  true  of  buttermilk." 

CLEANLINESS   IMPORTANT 

Cleanliness  is  a  requisite  of  success  in  using  the  by- 
products of  dairy,  creamery  or  cheese  factory.  If  care 
is  not  exercised  the  results  are  sure  to  be  unsatisfactory, 
and  when  so  much  liquid  of  this  character  is  used,  great- 
er caution  will  be  necessary  than  would  otherwise  be 
needed  to  maintain  healthful  Quarters  and  feeding  con- 
veniences. 

A  feature  of  hog  feeding  which  has  been  assuming 
serious  proportions  in  dairy  sections  is  the  tendency 
toward  the  spread  of  tuberculosis.  This  has  become  so 
marked  that  packers  have  refused  to  buy  hogs  known  to 


SWINE    REARING    WITH    DAIRYING  445 

be  shipped  from  sections  where  tuberculosis  was  prev- 
alent. The  hog  with  this  disease  is  to  all  outward  ap- 
pearances healthy,  and  may  be  the  plumpest  in  a  lot ; 
his  real  condition  can  be  discovered  only  after  killing, 
and  for  these  reasons  packers  are  suspicious  of  hogs 
marketed  from  dairying  communities.  When  they  trace 
affected  shipments  in  a  marked  degree  to  certain  locali- 
ties, their  recourse  lies  in  placing  a  ban  upon  hogs  from 
those  localities.  This  problem  of  tuberculosis  is  being 
extensively  investigated  in  the  hope  that  some  practical 
means  of  preventing  the  resulting  losses  may  be  dis- 
covered. 

Where  refuse,  grease,  milk,  whey  and  other  things 
that  go  to  make  up  swill  are  left  in  the  barrel  day 
after  day.  bacterial  growths  develop,  fermentation  oc- 
curs, and  chemical  changes  take  place  which  oftentimes 
more  than  counteract  by  their  detrimental  action  any 
value  that  the  swill  might  have.  Such  filthy  barrels  are 
the  most  natural  breeding  places  for  disease  germs. 
Scours  is  often  caused  by  such  uncleanliness.  A  breeder 
with  a  filthy  swill  barrel  need  not  consider  it  an  act  of 
providence  if  his  pigs  suddenly  sicken  and  die.  It  is 
his  own  willful  act  that  is  responsible.  A  filthy  swill  bar- 
rel is  not  alone  unsightly,  but  dangerous.  It  should  not 
have  a  place  on  any  farm.  Boiling  water  and  an  old 
broom  applied  once  a  week  will  do  much  toward  keep- 
ing it  sanitary,  and  to  an  extent  presentable. 

DAIRYING  AND  WINTER  PORK  MAKING 

Leo  C.  Reynolds,  a  well-known  Michigan  swine 
grower  and  writer,  even  so  far  north  as  he  is,  is  partial 


446  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

to  winter  pork  making,  and  says  that  especially  where 
winter  dairying  is  carried  on  it  can  be  made  a  very  prof- 
itable business.  He  writes.  "If  the  milk  is  separated  at 
the  farm  and  the  cream  is  sent  to  the  factory,  the  by- 
product can  be  fed  to  the  hogs  with  a  good  margin  of 
profit.  No  calf  has  the  ability  to  convert  skim  milk  into 
profitable  meat  as  readily  as  a  thrifty  pig.  The  pig, 
properly  handled,  will  be  ready  for  market  in  six  months. 
Comfortably  housed  and  well  cared  for,  hogs  can  be 
forced  to  make  better  gains  during  cold  than  warm 
weather,  thus  causing  a  more  profitable  consumption  of 
the  food  supplied. 

"During  the  winter  months,  when  the  field  work  is  not 
pressing,  pork  making  furnishes  an  opportunity  to  utilize 
the  farm  labor  to  advantage.  Where  winter  dairying- 
is  carried  on,  laborers  must  be  constantly  maintained  to 
do  chores  and  care  for  the  milk.  There  are  always  sev- 
eral hours  between  milkings  when  the  labor  needs  to  be 
otherwise  employed.  Most  dairymen  keep  one  or  two 
barn  hands  to  do  the  chores  and  care  for  the  dairy  herd, 
exclusive  of  the  milking.  As  the  hogs  can  be  fed  be- 
tween the  hours  in  which  the  herd  demands  attention,  we 
find  that  it  is  very  profitable  to  follow  winter  pork 
making  as  an  adjunct  to  the  dairy,  because  we  can  fur- 
nish steady  employment  to  the  necessary  farm  labor.  It 
requires  only  a  few  minutes  for  one  or  two  hands  to 
feed  50  or  75  hogs,  and  this  in  no  way  need  interfere 
with  their  regular-  work. 

"Attention  should  be  paid  to  compounding  as  nearly 
as  possible  a  well  balanced  ration  to  promote  rapid  and 
profitable  gain.    For  slops  we  have  never  found  anything 


SWINE    REARING    WITH    DAIRYING  44^ 

equal  to  skim  milk  and  wheat  middlings.  If  the  milk  is 
fed  directly  from  the  separator,  the  temperature  is  yet 
above  normal,  thus  supplying  the  hogs  with  warm  slops. 
This  is  very  essential  during  cold  weather.  In  case  the 
milk  cannot  be  used  directly  from  the  separator,  it  is 
advisable  to  employ  some  means  of  warming  the  slops. 
We  have  found  that  both  growing  and  fattening  hogs 
do  much  better  when  fed  warm  rather  than  cold  slops, 
and  especially  during  cold  weather.  For  grain  rations 
we  endeavor  to  use  farm-produced  grains  as  far  as  pos- 
sible; they  are  not  only  nearer  at  hand,  but  they  com- 
pound a  cheaper  ration.  Corn  should  compose  the  larger 
portion  of  the  grain  for  the  fattening  stock. 

"Attention  should  also  be  given  to  supplying  the  ani- 
mals with  i^lenty  of  corroborants  (tonics  or  correctives) 
to  promote  health  and  stimulate  assimilation.  Hogs 
when  confined  to  limited  quarters  are  unable  to  obtain 
mineral  matter,  and  unless  supplied,  will  soon  become 
diseased.  Charcoal  is  one  of  the  best  corroborants  avail- 
able, and  should  always  be  kept  within  easy  reach  of  the 
animals.  Salt  is  also  an  essential,  and  should  be  supplied 
daily  in  the  slops." 

A  Dakota  student  of  pork-making  problems  declares 
that  "no  combination  on  earth  will  cause  a  farmer's 
mortgage  to  tremble  and  turn  pale  like  the  cow  and  the 
brood  sow  hitched  up  together.  It  is  my  opinion  that 
the  first  cost  of  hogs,  properly  bred,  properly  pastured 
and  properly  fed,  with  corn  costing  not  more  than  35 
cents  per  bushel,  does  not  exceed  three  cents  per  pound." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Hog  Houses  and  Pens 

Probably  every  swine  grower,  and  especially  ot  pure- 
))re(ls  reared  for  breeding  purposes,  has  had  dreams  of 
some  time  possessing  a  model  hog  house;  one  so  capa- 
cious, so  complete  and  so  nearly  meeting  every  require- 
ment that  labor  and  further  expense  would  be  almost  un- 
necessary, while  the  convenience,  better  health,  freedom 
from  losses,  economy  in  feed  and  increased  profits  re- 
sulting from  an  equipment  so  perfect  would  make  the 
breeder's  progress  toward  fortune  little  less  than  a  tri- 
umphal march  along  an  asphalt  highway,  shaded  by 
sighing  elms  and  perfumed  by  flowers.  Properly  am- 
bitious, and  with  such  ideals  in  mind,  breeders  have 
planned,  erected  and  equipped  what  were  intended  to  be 
such  buildings;  many  expensi^•e,  elaborate  and  ornate, 
with  "all  modern  conveniences,"  and  others  less  so  in 
varying  degrees,  but  all  intended  to  insure  economy  by 
accommodating  a  large  number  of  animals  under  one 
roof  and  in  restricted  yards  or  pens  adjacent. 

So  far  as  mere  theory  disclosed,  many  of  these,  of 
moderate,  as  well  as  of  high  cost,  were  admirable,  if  not 
perfect,  and  their  owners  for  the  time  fancied  they  pos- 
sessed a  sort  of  Aladdin's  lamp,  by  means  of  which 
they  would  find  a  larger  measure  of  success  than  was  or 
would  be  vouchsafed  to  their  less  discerning  and  less 
enterprising  fellows.     In  practice  these  structures  have 


HUG    HOUSES    AND    PENS  449 

been,  generally  speaking,  a  disappointment.  The  author 
has  never  seen  one  that  was  found  by  its  owner  more  than 
partially  satisfactory  for  permanent  use.  Two  principal 
defects  seemed  to  be  that  animals  confined  in  such  quar- 
ters had  insufficient  warmth  and  light  from  the  sun  and 
too  little  exercise  for  health  and  wholesome  flesh-making. 
The  Breeder's  Ga::ettc  says.  "Good  hog  barns  are  as 
rare  as  angel's  visits.  Most  of  the  elaborate  'hog  pal- 
aces' are  inconvenient,  unsanitary,  uncomfortable,  costly 
and  nearly  worthless.  .  .  .  Yet  the  writer  believes 
that  a  good  one  is  a  possibility." 

On  its  face  it  does  not  seem  difficult  to  construct,  with 
reasonable  expenditure,  a  habitation  for  swine  so  con- 
venient and  comfortable  that  all  their  days  from  first  to 
last  may  be  spent  in  it  in  that  thrift  which  is  supposed 
to  come  of  comfort,  along  with  enhanced  profit  to  their 
owners ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  hog  does  not  seem 
to  do  well  under  such  supposedly  perfect  conditions. 
For  his  best  prosperity  and  prolificacy,  he  seems  to  re- 
quire more  light,  more  liberty  and  closer  contact  with 
fresh  earth  than  he  finds  in  any  palace,  however  v^ell 
equipped  or  furnished.  Nature  seems  to  have  decreed 
that  treated  as  a  song  bird  and  kept  in  a  gilded  cage  he 
shall  not  be  his  real  or  better  self. 

This,  however,  is  not  said  to  dissuade  from  doing  so 
those  who  desire  and  are  able  to  build  elaborate  struc- 
tures, needed  for  housing  their  swine  at  most  but  a  few 
months  in  a  year,  but  rather  to  reassure  breeders  that 
safety  and  success  in  their  business  are  not  really  de- 
pendent upon  tl:e  possession  of  such  buildings.  It  is 
safe  to  say  that  those  who  have  attained  either  fame  or 


450  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

fortune  by  aid  of  these  accessories  are  few  in  number, 
if,  indeed,  there  are  any  such,  and  the  men  who  have  suc- 
ceeded best  in  a  linancial  way,  or  wlio  have  left  the  im- 
press of  improvement  upon  any  breed,  ha\'e  done  so  with- 
out the  aid  of  expensive  buildings  or  fittings.  A  happy 
medium,  somewhere  between  the  too  elaborate  hog  house 
on  one  hand  and  the  filthy  hovel  on  the  other — quarters 
clean  and  comfortably  bedded,  where  sunlight  and  ven- 
tilation can  come,  and  wholesome  water,  pasture  and 
exercise,  with  shade  in  summer,  are  convenient — is  likely 
to  give  the  largest  measure  of  satisfaction  and  profit  to 
the  vast  majority,  whether  their  shibboleth  be  pedigree 
or  pork.  The  hog  does  not  need  a  palace  or  an  uphol- 
stered cage,  nor  does  he  prosper  in  a  dungeon.  The 
forest  and  its  range  were  his  natural  habitat  from  ear- 
liest history  and  living  in  close  confinement  or  an  en- 
vironment of  filth  were  as  foreign  to  his  instincts  as  to 
those  of  numerous  other  animals  erroneously  rated  as 
greatly  his  superiors  in  cleanliness. 

The  farmer  will  do  well  to  give  the  matter  of  building 
a  large  hog  house  careful  thought  before  he  begins  it, 
not  alone  on  account  of  the  expense,  but  for  various 
reasons.  The  difiiculties  in  keeping  the  sanitary  condi- 
tions of  such  a  structure  as  they  should  be  are  not  a 
few.  AV'hen  disease  attacks  the  animals  in  a  large  house, 
the  problem  of  ever  thoroughly  disinfecting  the  building 
becomes  a  serious  one,  and  few  have  the  knowledge  or 
skill  to  accomplish  it.  Unless  this  is  done,  the  owner 
can  have  no  assurance  that  he  will  be  safe  from  further 
loss  when  hogs  again  occui)y  the  building. 


HOG    HOUSES    AND    PENS  45 1 

The  illustrations,  plans  and  descriptions  in  this  chap- 
ter are  not  presented  with  the  idea  that  any  one  of  tliem 
will  be  found  exactly  suited  to  all  the  needs  of  any  one 
individual,  for  the  situation  of  each  breeder  or  farmer  is 
in  some  respects  different  from  that  of  every  other. 
Each  plan  is  believed  or  has  been  found  by  its  author  to 
have  points  of  excellence,  and  by  adaptation  of  sugges- 
tions afforded  in  some  one,  or  all  of  these,  the  reader 
may,  it  is  not  unlikely,  have  his  recjuirements  met. 

Discussing  hog  houses,  more  particularly  those  of  con- 
siderable size  or  expense,  AVilliam  Dietrich,  the  swine 
husbandman  of  the  Illinois  experiment  station,  points  out 
that  such  buildings,  if  most  serviceable,  should  be  con- 
structed so  that  they  can  be  used  every  day  in  the  year. 
If  this  can  be  done,  it  is  permissible  to  spend  more  money 
in  the  construction  than  would  be  warranted  were  the 
buildings  to  be  used  only  a  few  months  during  the  year. 
In  order  to  be  an  economizer  of  labor,  the  houses  should 
be  planned  so  that  the  largest  amount  of  work  may  be 
accomplished  with  the  smallest  expenditure  of  labor, 
which  is  a  very  important  factor.  Dryness  should  be 
afforded  by  thorough  drainage ;  freedom  from  dust  by 
sprinkling  with  water,  and  the  rays  of  direct  sunlight 
should  be  prevented  from  entering  the  pens  during  the 
hot  part  of  the  summer  days,  by  the  manner  of  con- 
structing the  buildings.  To  be  sanitary  the  houses 
should  admit  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  to  the  floors  of 
all  the  pens  and  exclude  cold  drafts  in  winter,  be  dry, 
free  from  dust,  well  ventilated  and  exclude  the  hot  sun 
clurin"-  the  summer. 


452  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

In  providing  shelter  for  swine,  as  well  as  for  other 
classes  of  live  stock,  surroundings  should  be  furnished 
that  conform  as  nearly  to  nature  as  the  improved  condi- 
tion of  the  animals  and  circumstances  of  the  owner  will 
permit.  Swine,  when  wild,  inhabit  the  forest,  where 
shade,  water,  protection  from  cold  winds,  and  natural 
soil  are  abundant,  and  where  they  may  select  dry  or  damp 
localities  as  they  please.  The  best  surroundings,  then, 
for  swine,  are  those  that  will  satisfy  their  natural  desires, 
but  so  modified  and  improved  as  to  promote  the  largest 
financial  results.  The  choice  location  for  a  hog  house 
is  one  that  is  well  drained  and  well  lighted,  and  that  will 
permit  access  to  pasture,  to  good  shade  and  to  water  that 
is  free  from  disease  germs,  where  also  there  are  oppor- 
tunities for  making  wallows  in  clean  mud. 

If  the  building  can  be  placed  on  a  sandy  or  gravelly 
soil  better  drainage  will  be  afforded  than  by  a  clay,  silt, 
or  peaty  soil.  Light  and  shade  are  desirable  for  rea- 
sons that  are  apparent  to  everyone.  Pasture  should 
be  accessible,  as  considerable  food  is  obtained  from  the 
soil  in  the  form  of  roots,  worms  and  insects,  as  well 
as  other  ■  substances  that  are  not  foods,  but  necessary 
to  health.  A  limestone  soil  is  preferable,  because  the 
water  from  such  a  soil,  as  well  as  the  soil  and  stone 
themselves,  furnish  the  lime  that  is  so  essential  in  build- 
ing up  bone.  A  rolling  pasture  is  preferable,  because  it 
afifords  better  drainage  and  a  form  of  exercise  that  is 
conducive  to  the  production  of  a  large  percentage  of  lean 
meat.  It  also  tends  to  produce  strong  legs  with  upright 
pasterns,  which,  from  the  breeder's  standpoint,  are 
amonof  the  first  essentials  of  a  crood  hoo-.     If  there  is  no 


HOG    HOUSES    AND    PENS  453 

natural  stream,  water  pumped  from  a  well  by  a  wind- 
mill or  other  power,  can  supply  the  need.  "A  clean 
mud  wallow  is  enjoyed  more  by  swine  in  the  summer 
time  than  any  one  other  condition  that  may  be  furnished 
them.  It  keeps  them  cool,  destroys  lice  and  keeps  the 
skin  in  a  good  healthy  condition." 

In  the  first  illustration  at  the  beginning  of  this  ehap- 
ter  is  shown  the  exterior  of  a  hog  house  at  the  Illinois 
experiment  station  (Bulletin  No.  109),  constructed  with 
such  ideals  in  mind,  and  described  by  Mr.  Dietrich : 

"The  building  as  a  whole  is  30  feet  wide,  with  an 
eight-foot  alley  running  lengthwise  through  the  middle, 
between  two  rows  of  pens.  It  stands  lengthwise  east 
and  west,  with  the  windows  on  the  south.  The  important 
factor  to  consider  in  this  connection  is  the  height  of  the 
windows  represented  at  E  and  D  in  connection  with  the 
width  and  manner  of  construction  of  the  building.  The 
window  E  is  so  placed  that  at  noon  of  the  shortest  day 
of  the  year,  the  ray  of  light  which  passes  through  tlie 
upper  part,  will  fall  upon  the  tloor  of  the  south  side  pen 
on  the  opposite  side  from  the  window.  This  allows  the 
total  amount  of  light  coming  through  the  window  at 
this  season  of  the  year  and  this  time  of  the  day  to  fall 
upon  the  floor  within  the  pen.  In  the  morning  and  in 
the  afternoon,  when  the  sun  is  not  at  its  highest  point, 
a  part  or  all  of  this  beam  of  light  will  pass  beyond  the 
pen.  Consequently,  during  the  later  winter  months,  there 
will  be  a  maximum  amount  of  sunlight  on  the  floor  of 
the  pen. 

"The  lower  ]:)art  of  the  window  D  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  building  performs  the  same  function  for  the  pen 


454  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

on  the  north  side  of  the  alley  as  does  the  window  E  for 
the  pen  on  the  south  side.  By  this  arrangement  of  win- 
dows, there  is  possible  a  maximum  amount  of  sunlight 
on  the  floor  of  the  pens  in  winter,  which  will  serve  to 
warm  the  interior  of  the  house  and  especially  the  beds 
during  the  later  months  of  winter,  thus  making  it  possible 
to  have  pigs  farrowed  very  early  in  the  season.  Sunlight 
not  only  warms  and  dries  the  building,  but  destroys  dis- 
ease germs,  thus  making  the  building  both  warm  and 
sanitary.  Sanitation  is  further  augmented  by  the  upper 
part  of  the  window  D,  which,  when  open,  acts  as  a  ven- 
tilator. It  is  supplied  with  weights,  so  that  it  can  be 
opened  and  closed  at  will  by  the  attendant  while  stand- 
ing on  the  floor  of  the  alley. 

"To  have  this  arrangement  of  windows  in  the  latitude 
of,  say,  central  or  northern  Illinois,  it  is  necessary  to  have 
the  top  of  the  window  E,  which  throws  light  into  the  pen 
on  the  south  side,  5  feet  6  inches  from  the  floor. 
The  upper  window,  which  throws  light  into  the  pen  on 
the  north  side,  is  longer,  but  a  point  in  this  window,  the 
same  distance  above  the  lower  end  as  the  height  of 
the  window  E  should  be  9  feet  8  inches  from  the 
floor.  This  necessitates  a  flat  roof  for  the  part  of  the 
building  south  of  the  alley,  which  must  necessarily  be 
made  of  some  material  that  will  shed  water  at  a  slight 
pitch.  The  wall  on  the  north  side  of  the  building  is 
made  as  high  as  that  on  the  south  side,  but  the  roof  on 
the  north  side  and  alley  is  made  steeper,  so  as  to  give 
more  air  space  and  good  ventilation.  This  part  of  the 
roof,  then,  may  be  made  of  shingles. 


11 OG    no  USES    AND    PENS 


455 


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GROUND    PLAN    OP    THE    ILLINOIS    EXPERIMENT    STATION 
HOG    HOUSE 


''In  the  figure  above  is  shown  the  ground  plan  of  this 
liouse.  It  is  I20  feet  long  by  30  feet  wide,  and  is  rep- 
resented in  the  figure  by  O,  S,  T,  U.  X,  Y  is  the  alley 
Avhich  runs  lengthwise  through  the  middle  of  the  build  • 
ing  and  is  eight  feet  wide.  This  permits  of  driving 
through  with  a  wagon,  which  allows  the  feed  and  bed- 
ding to  be  hauled  in  where  it  is  needed  and  the  manure 
to  be  loaded  on  the  wagon  directly  from  the  pens  and 
hauled  to  the  fields. 

'The  doors  at  either  end  of  the  building  and  one  across 
the  alley,  shutting  off  the  pigs  from  the  rest  of  the  build- 
ing, are  shown  by  R.  The  pens  A  are  ten  feet  wide  and 
T I  feet  deep.  Each  pen  has  a  doorway,  M,  leading  to 
the  outside,  which  is  opened  by  a  door  sliding  upward. 


456  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

There  is  also  a  door,  N,  opening  to  the  alley  on  the  in- 
side. This  door  is  hung  so  that  when  it  is  open  it  will 
turn  the  pigs  toward  the  front  end  of  the  house  where 
they  are  to  l^e  weighed.  It  also  permits  of  changing  pigs 
from  any  one  pen  to  any  other  pen,  and  easy  access  for 
the  attendant.  L  represents  the  trough,  which  is  placed 
on  the  side  of  the  pen  next  to  the  alley  and  which  with 
the  arrangement  of  a  swinging  panel  above  this  trough, 
as  is  shown  in  the  illustration  at  the  first  of  this  chap- 
ter, makes  feeding  a  very  easy  and  convenient  operation. 
The  fender  in  the  pen  is  shown  by  K  in  the  plan.  This 
consists  of  a  two-inch  tubular  iron  bar,  placed  on  iron 
jwsts  of  the  same  dimension,  and  set  in  concrete  in  the 
floor.  This  bar  is  placed  eight  or  nine  inches  above  the 
floor  and  about  six  inches  from  the  wall,  and  is  to  pre- 
vent the  sows  crushing  the  pigs  at  farrowing  time.  Ilie 
sow  will  necessarily  make  her  bed  in  this  corner,  as  the 
other  three  corners  are  occupied,  two  of  which  ha\e 
doors  and  the  other  the  feed  trough. 

"D  in  the  plan  shows  the  platform  scale  on  which  the 
pigs  are  weighed  as  desired.  This  scale  is  fitted  with  a 
frame,  and  the  door  on  the  side  next  to  the  alley,  shown 
at  O,  opens  so  that  when  the  pigs  come  down  the  alley,  it 
will  facilitate  turning  them  upon  the  scales.  At  the  other 
end  of  the  scale  platform  is  a  smaller  door  in  the  frame 
which  opens  through  a  door,  P,  of  the  building,  thus  al- 
lowing the  pigs  to  pass  from  the  scale  room  directly  to 
the  outside,  where  there  may  be  a  loading  chute  leading 
to  a  wagon. 

"F  is  the  feed-mixing  room  in  which  are  bins  for 
feeds  of  various  kinds  represented  by  I.     There  is  also  a 


HOG    HOUSES    AND    PENS  457 

door,  J,  leading"  to  the  outside  from  this  room.  H 
shows  tiie  hydrant,  from  which  water  is  obtained  for 
mixing  slops,  watering  hog'S,  and  for  attaching  the  hose 
to  sprinkle  the  floors.  E  shows  the  stove  that  is  used  for 
lieating  water  in  winter  for  mixing  slops. 

"G  shows  the  office,  and  C  the  bins  in  which  the  feed 
is  stored,  as  it  is  hauled  to  the  hog  house.  The  open- 
ing to  these  feed  bins  is  from  the  main  alley  of  the  hog 
liouse,  from  which  they  are  filled  directly  from  the 
wagon  as  the  feed  is  brought  in.  The  feed  is  then  taken 
out  in  smaller  quantities  as  needed  and  put  into  the  small 
bins  in  the  mixing  room  from  which  it  is  weighed  out  to 
the  pigs  at  feeding  time. 

"B  shows  an  alley  which  leads  through  the  door,  T, 
to  the  yard,  V.  on  the  outside.  Opposite  this  is  the  yard 
Z.  These  two  yards  are  not  connected  with  pens  on  the 
inside  of  the  building,  but  are  used  as  l^oar  pens  and  are 
supplied  with  separate  cots  and  feed  troughs  on  the  out- 
side. The  rest  of  the  pens  on  the  outside,  shown  as  A, 
are  of  the  same  width  as  the  pens  inside,  and  28  feet 
long.  They  are  connected  with  the  pens  on  the  inside  by 
means  of  the  doors  above  mentioned,  the  outer  end  open- 
ing to  the  lane  which  leads  to  the  pastures.  The  parti- 
tions between  these  pens  on  the  outside  are  made  of  two 
lengths  of  common  fencing,  one  16  feet  and  the  other  12 
feet  long.  The  12-foot  length  is  next  to  the  building  and 
may  be  made  into  a  gate  so  that  it  will  swing.  By  open- 
ing all  these  gates  and  swinging  them  one  way,  and 
away  from  the  building,  an  alley  is  made  along  the  out- 
side of  the  building  in  case  it  is  not  desirable  to  use  the 
alley  in  the  building  for  taking  out  the  manure.     But 


458  SWINE    IN   AMERICA 

this  is  not  so  convenient  as  driving  through  the  alley  on 
the  inside. 

''There  is  a  four-inch  drain  tile  laid  from  each  pen  in 
the  building-  to  the  main  lines  on  either  side,  which  are 
placed  on  the  outside  of  the  pens,  leading  to  a  ravine. 
The  tile  opens  up  through  the  floor  of  the  pen  by  means 
of  a  perforated  iron  disk,  which  is  laid  in  the  bell  end  of 
a  length  of  sewer  pipe.  The  floor  is  made  to  slope  toward 
the  drain,  so  that  it  can  be  flushed  with  water. 

"The  second  illustration  at  the  beginning  of  this  chap- 
ter shows  the  interior  section  of  the  house  containing  the 
pens.  All  the  gates  and  partitions  of  the  interior  are 
made  of  wire  netting  panels.  Wire  is  considered  better 
for  this  purpose  than  lumber  for  several  reasons,  as  fol- 
lows : 

"(i)  There  are  no  obstructions  to  light.  The  rays 
of  light  coming  through  the  windows  are  not  prevented 
from  reaching  the  floor  where  they  are  most  needed ; 
they  keep  the  floor  or  bed  in  which  the  pigs  sleep  dry, 
warm  and  disinfected. 

"(2)  By  this  means  there  is  no  opportunity  for  dis- 
ease germs  to  lodge  in  cracks  and  crevices  or  to  be  har- 
bored in  the  shadow  of  solid  fences.  In  case  the  hog 
house  should  ever  become  infected  with  disease  germs  of 
an}^  kind  it  can  be  disinfected  much  more  easily  and  thor- 
oughly. 

"(3)  AVire  partitions  allow  the  hogs  always  to  be 
within  sight  of  each  other  and  of  the  attendant.  By 
this  means  the  sows,  when  they  are  shut  up  to  farrow, 
will  not  become  estranged  from  one  another,  and  will  not 
i)e  so  likely  to  fight  after  returning  to  a  common  pasture. 


HOG    HOUSES    AND    PENS  459 

"Part  of  the  floor  is  made  of  hard  brick,  laid  flat  in 
the  pens  and  laid  on  edge  in  the  alley ;  the  remainder  is 
of  cement.  Lumber  is  not  used,  because,  being  necessa- 
rily laid  on  the  ground  to  prevent  cold  air  or  cold  drafts 
getting  beneath  the  floor,  it  would  rot  out  too  quickly, 
making  it  very  expensive.  Brick  is  thought  to  be  a  lit- 
tle warmer  in  winter  than  cement,  and  not  so  slippery, 
l)ut  both  are  being  tried.  Brick,  of  course,  is  colder  in  win- 
ter than  is  lumber,  but  this  can  be  obviated  by  using  bed- 
ding or  by  making  an  overlay  (portable  floor )  of  one-inch 
lumber  for  the  corner  of  the  pen  where  the  bed  is  made. 

COST 

"The  house  is  divided  into  unit  lengths  of  ten  feet 
each,  this  being  the  dimension  of  the  pens  parallel  to  the 
long  dimension  of  the  building.  Where  there  is  proper 
drainage,  an  earth  floor  is  probably  the  best  kind  of  a 
floor  in  a  hog  house,  although  it  is  a  little  harder  to  keep 
in  repair.  Therefore,  by  omitting  the  floor,  tile  drain 
and  eaves-troughs,  the  building  still  contains  all  the  es- 
sential features,  and  costs  approximately  $122  per  unit 
length  of  ten  feet,  which  contains  two  pens.  If  the  car- 
penter work  and  painting  can  be  done  with  the  regular 
farm  help  at  odd  times  when  there  is  no  other  employ- 
ment at  hand,  the  building  can  be  constructed  for  ap- 
proximately $100  per  unit  length  of  ten  feet.  This  in- 
cludes the  labor  as  well  as  the  material  on  the  tar-and- 
gravel  roof,  which  is  the  flat  roof  on  the  part  of  the 
building  south  of  the  alley,  a  two-foot  brick  wall  under- 
neath the  structure  and  the  iron  posts,  gates,  panels  and 
fenders,  which  cost  at  the  rate  of  $13.60  per  pen. 


460  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

"The  cost  of  the  house  with  all  the  accessories  as  out- 
lined is  as  follows : 

Foundation,  tile  drain,   floor  and  chim- 
ney     $649-25 

Lumber  and  windows 639.70 

Iron  posts,  gates,  panels  and  fenders .  .     244.80 

Hardware 53-65 

Paint  and  painting  (two  coats) 54-00 

Labor  (carpenter  )   290.00 

Tar-and-gravel  roof 79-15 

Scales   100.00 

Total      $2,110.55 

"The  cost  of  the  foundation,  tile  drain,  floor  and  chim- 
ney seems  rather  high,  but.  due  to  the  slope  of  the  land  in 
this  particular  instance,  the  foundation  at  the  west  end 
of  the  building  is  three  feet  higher  than  would  be  neces- 
sary had  the  building  been  placed  on  a  level  spot  The 
foundation  wall  at  the  east  end  of  the  building  is  two 
feet  high. 

"The  cost  of  the  brick  floor  with  cement  filler  when 
the  brick  is  laid  flat,  as  in  the  pens,  is  80  cents  per  square 
yard  and  when  laid  on  edge,  as  in  the  alley,  is  $1.12  per 
square  yard.  The  four-inch  cement  floor  in  the  pens 
cost  $1.00  and  the  six-inch  cement  floor  in  the  alley  cost 
$1.35  per  square  yard.  This  is  exclusive  of  the  cinders 
used  for  the  foundation  in  both  the  brick  and  the  cement 
floors. 

"The  lumber  and  windows  form  a  considerable  item 
of  expense,  but  this  includes  the  lumber  in  the  fence  of 


HOG    HOUSES    AND    PENS  461 

the  outside  pens.  A  good  grade  of  lumber  was  used 
throughout  and  the  shingles  used  were  the  best  on  the 
market.  The  walls  of  the  building  are  made  of  one 
thickness  of  lumber,  viz.,  the  drop  siding  on  the  outside 


of  the 

Studding-.     It  was  found, 

however 

,  that 

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LOCATION    OF    THE    ILLINOIS    STATION    HOG    HOUSE    WITH 

REFERENCE  TO  PASTURES 

coldest  weather  of  this  locality,  the  Iniilding  is  not  quite 
warm  enough.  The  cost  of  the  scales  includes  the  work 
of  installing-  by  an  expert.  The  total  cost  of  $2,110.55 
rioes  not  take  account  of  grading-,  hauling  cinders,  nor 
of  the  fence  posts." 

IjOcatiox  as  to  pasture 

As  said,  the  house  should  be  located  so  that  it  will 
give  access  to  pasture.  The  next  illustration  shows  an 
arrangement  by  which  this  can  be  accomplished. 


462  SWINE    iX    AMERICA 

"In  this  sketch,  B  represents  the  house,  A  the  small 
pens  on  the  outside  adjacent  to  the  pens  on  the  inside, 
and  V  and  Z  the  boar  pens  mentioned.  L  represents  a 
small  pasture  that  may  be  used  for  a  boar  or  any  other 
hog  or  pigs.  D  is  the  lane  by  which  the  hog  house  is 
approached.  E  and  F  are  lanes  leading  from  each  side 
of  the  hog  house  to  the  pastures.  H  represents  the  pas- 
tures for  the  hogs  that  have  access  to  the  north  side  of 
the  building,  and  J  the  pastures  for  those  on  the  soutli 
side.  This  arrangement  is  not  absolute,  but  may  he  made 
to  suit  the  location  or  the  fancy  of  the  builder." 

A   WISCONSIN   COMBINATION  HOUSE 

A  plan  for  a  house  24  feet  wide,  48  feet  long,  any 
height  desired,  useful  a  part  of  the  year  for  other  pur- 
poses than  hogs,  if  needed,  is  given  (in  the  next  sketch) 
by  Prof.  J.  G.  Fuller,  in  Wisconsin  experiment  station 
Bulletin  No.  153.  As  he  suggests,  it  can  be  used  entirely 
for  hogs  and  kept  divided  into  pens,  or  part  of  it  can 
be  used  for  other  purposes,  sucli  as  stabling  cattle  or 
sheep,  or  for  storing  machinery.  If  desirable  to  feed 
cattle  when  the  building  is  not  required  for  hogs,  the 
partitions  can  be  removed  and  leave  an  ideal  place  to 
shelter  cattle  and  hogs.  Later  on.  it  can  be  cleaned  out 
for  farrowing  time  and  the  partitions  let  down  as  needed. 
"In  explaining  this  house  no  mention  is  made  of  feeding 
troughs,  it  being  presumed  that  small  troughs  would  be 
used  for  individual  pens,  and  feeding  floors  provided 
for  general  use  on  the  outside.  It  is  generally  desirable 
to  provide  room  for  fodder  and  bedding  above,  especially 


HOG    HOUSES    AND    PENS 


463 


if  the  building  is  to  be  used  for  other  purposes  than  for 
sheltering  hogs.  The  alley  through  the  middle  is  8 
feet  wide,  which  gives  ample  room  to  drive  through  with 
a  wagon  or  a  manure  spreader.  This  leaves  eight  feet 
on  either  side  of  the  alley,  and  by  dividing  the  space  up 
into  pens  it  is  possible  to  have  eight  pens  6x8  feet 
on  each  side  of  the  alley,  which  altogether  would  make 
16  pens,  and  if  more  were  temporarily  needed,  a  })art  of 
tlie  alley  could  be  partitioned  off. 


48  -  0 

^1       I       M| 


V 


/ 


GROUND    PLAN    OF    COMBINATION    HOG    HOUSE 
PROF.  J.  G.  FULLER 


MADE    BY 


The  next  sketch  shows  a  scheme  for  suspending  parti- 
tions between  the  pens.  These  partitions  are  made  from 
one  inch  by  six  inch  16  foot  fencing  and  are  suspended 
from  the  joist  by  hinges.  The  upper  half  marked  a, 
shows  the  partition  swung  to  the  ceiling  and  out  of  the 
way.  It  will  be  found  necessary  to  remove  the  first  par- 
tition at  the  end  toward  which  the  partitions  are,  to 
swing,  since  the  space  is  not  large  enough  to  allow  it  to 


464 


SWINE   IN    AMERICA 


swing  upward  to  meet  the  ceiling.  Then,  in  beginning  to 
divide  up  the  floor  space  into  pens,  the  first  partition  is 
let  down  and  a  panel  placed  next  to  the  alley,  thus  com- 
pleting a  pen  6x8    feet.      By   continuing  in   this  order 


—  6" 


2  X  /o" 


PLAN  OF  SWINGING  PARTITIONS   FOR  PROFESSOR  FULLER  S 
HOG  HOUSE 


HOG    HOUSES    AND    PENS 


465 


on  Ixjtli  sides  of  the  alley,  the  building  can  easily  he 
divided  nito  16  single  pens.  As  there  is  no  post  in 
the  outside  corner  of  the  tirst  pen,  some  provision  must 
be  made  for  staying  it.  This  can  be  done  by  driving  a 
stake  in  the  ground  or  by  having  a  small  block  in  the 
lloor.  Such  a  provision  would  have  to  be  made  for  every 
l)en  where  there  was  not  a  post  to  steady  the  partition. 

Below  is  shown  the  interior  \'iew  of  the  corner  of  a 
farrowing  pen.  It  is  provided  with  a  fender  around  the 
inside  of  the  pen  which  keeps  the  sow  from  lying  up 
against  the  partition  and  killing  young  pigs,  which  a 
large  sow  will  often  do.  The  fenders  should  project  at 
least  eight  inches  into  the  pen  and  allow  eight  inches  in 
the  clear  between  the  fender  and  the  tloor." 


n  . 

n      0      0 

n  / 

V/ 

(^ 

CORNER  OF  FARROWING  PEN   IN   PROFESSOR  FULLER  S   HOG 
HOUSE. 


AN 


LTXOIS  BREEDER'S  HOG  HOUSE 


A  |)rizc  was  awarded  to  an  Illinois  Ijreeder  for  a  liog 
house  plan,   the  description  and  outlines  of  which   are 


466 


SWINE   IN   AMERICA 


shown  herewith:  The  house  is  i6  feet  wide,  8  feet 
high  at  the  eaves,  and  may  be  built  as  long  as  needed.  It 
has  a  3>^-foot  alley  lengthwise  through  the  middle, 
between  the  pens,  and  is  floored  throughout.  The 
pens  are  6x5  feet.  Partitions  between  pens  are 
set    in    grooves,    so    they    can    be    slipped    out    at    will, 


^ 


J   L 


EXTERIOR  AND  PLAN   OF  ILLINOIS   BREEDER  S   HOG   HOUSE. 


to  make  room  for  a  larger  number  of  hogs  together 
if  desired.  It  is  much  more  convenient  to  have  the  parti- 
tions so  they  can  be  slipped  out  rather  than  hung  on 
hinges,  and  stored  when  not  needed  in  place.  Each  pen 
has  a  small  door  opening  into  the  inside  passageway  for 
convenience  in  changing  hogs  from  one  pen  to  another. 
It  should  also  ha\'e  a  small  outside  door,  opening  into  an 
outside  pen  the  same  width  as  the  inside  pen.  The  north 
end  of  the  house  is  for  a  corn  crib  and  feed  bins,  ac- 
cessible from  the  passageway;  also  a  hydrant  connected 
with  an  elevated  tank,  supplying  water  for  drinking, 
mixing  slop,  cleaning  floors,  and  other  purposes. 

The  house  has   a  small  loft   convenient    for   storing 
straw  or  bedding  of  any  sort.     A  movable  chute  placed 


HOG    HOUSES    AND    PENS 


467 


at  the  outer  end  of  the  passageway  is  handy  when  the 
hogs  are  to  be  loaded  into  a  wagon. 

A  KANSAS  BREEDER'S  HOG  HOUSE 

A.  T.  Garth  of  Pawnee  county,  Kansas,  has  a  hog 
Iiouse  he  h'kes.  the  walls  of  which  are  hollow  concrete 
blocks.  This  was  described  and  illustrated  by  the  Kansas 
runner,    and    is     shown    in    the    illustration    on    this 


r 

--'       /■■■ 

P»f^«<  J^ 

"S 

^^^^^ 

II 

^tt4   BUv 

P.^. 

1 

LL 

'                    ' 

1 

GROUND  PLAN  OF  A.  T.  GARTH  S  CEMENT  HOG  HOUSE 


page.  It  is  28x60  feet,  outside  dimensions.  The 
concrete  blocks  are  8  by  18  inches  and  the  side  walls  are 
ten  blocks  high  above  the  foundation,  which  is  also  of 
concrete,  built  solid.  Above  the  walls  the  building  is  of 
framework  and  includes  a  loft  for  storage.  The  pas- 
sageway is  8  feet  wide.  The  pens  are  each  7J/'  feet  by 
9  feet  4  inches  and  the  gates  are  hung  so  they  may  be 
swung  across  the  passageway  and  thus  form  auxiliary 
pens  for  temporary  use.  Each  pen  has  a  window  set 
high  enough  for  proper  ventilation  and  light.  Each  cor- 
ner pen  has  two  windows.     The  feed  bin  is  15  feet  by 


468 


SWINE   IN    AMERICA 


9  feet  4  inches.  In  the  middle  pen  and  close  to  the  gate 
is  a  hydrant  for  the  supply  of  water  to  the  entire  build- 
ing. This  hydrant  is  fed  from  a  windmill  tank  which 
also  supplies  the  house  and  the  feed  lots  with  water.  The 
entire  building  has  a  cement  floor,  with  a  gentle  slope 
from  side  wall  to  center  and  from  north  and  south  end, 
so  that  the  entire  house  may  be  washed  out  with  the  aid 
of  the  hose,  and  the  w-aste  water  will  flow  to  the  sink  hole 
and  thence  away. 


.  AME.  lo'tvibe. 


GROUND  PLAN  AND  EXTERIOR  OF  AN  INDIANA  HOG  HOUSE 
AND  PENS 


Tlic  illustration  above  shows  a  house  and  pens  for 
brood  sows  found  satisfactory  by  an  Indiana  breeder 
tluring  several  years  of  use.  The  house  fronts  south,  is  120 
feet  long,  8  feet  deep,  8  feet  high  at  the  front  and  slopes 
to  3'/2  feet  in  the  rear.  It  contains  24  pens  5  by  8  feet,  and 
to  the  rear  are  24  outside  pens  5  by  10  feet.  Each  room 
has  a  rea^  door  for  letting  the  sow  into  her  outside  pen, 
and  each  outside  pen  has  a  gate  opening  into  a  lane  10 


HUG    HOUSES    AND    TENS 


469 


feet  wide,  which  is  convenient  for  getting  the  sows  into 
ihcir  pens.  The  walls  of  the  house  are  douhle-boarded 
with  building  paper  between.  Pens  inside  and  out  have 
cement  floors,  and  all  partitions  are  so  constructed  that 
they  can  be  taken  out — those  inside  can  be  hung  up  over- 
iiead — and  all  the  space  converted  into  one  big  pen  or 
several  pens,  for  fattening  hogs,  or  otherwise,  as  desired. 
There  are  12  windows  in  the  front  (south)  of  the  house, 
each  letting  light  and  sunshine  into  two  rooms.     There 


AN    INEXPENSIVE    STYLE    OF    HOG    HOUSE 


are  four  lots  of  i]^  acres  each  connecting  with  these 
quarters  each  suitable  to  accommodate  six  sows  when 
tiieir  pigs  are  small. 

The  above  illustration  represents  a  very  useful  and  at 
the  same  time  inexpensive  house,  8  feet  wide,  which  can 
I)c  extended  to  any  length  desired.  If  16  feet  long  it 
will  accommodate  ten  grown  hogs  for  fattening  or  two 
or  three  not  so  large.  Movable  partitions  can  be  placed 
at  such  distances  apart  as  suits,  and  an  outside  pen  or 
pens  built  at  the  rear.  A  cement  floor  is  advantageous  in 
such  a  house ;  the  posts  can  stand  on  the  cement,  and  no 
other  foundation  is  needed.  Joists  2yi6  inches,  spiked 
to  the  posts,  will  take  the  place  of  sills.  Board  up  and 
down. 


470 


SWINE   IN    AMERICA 


Herewith  is  a  feed  house  14  feet  square  and  1 1  feet 
high  to  the  eaves,  with  an  ordinary  comb  roof  of  de- 
sired pitch.  Its  builder,  W.  A.  Hart  of  Jay  county,  Ind., 
says  it  will  afford  room  in  the  loft  for  450  bushels  of 
corn,  and  bin  room  in  the  center  of  the  floor  for  nearly 
two  tons  of  ground  feed,  and  convenient  trough  space 
for  50  hogs.     The  hogs  do  not  go  inside  the  building, 


A    CONVENIENT    FEED    HOUSE    AND    FEEDING    FLOOR 


but  eat  slop  from  a  partitioned  V-shaped  trough  ex- 
tending along"  three  sides  of  the  house,  the  outer  edge  of 
the  trough  coming  out  even  with  the  outer  edge  of  the 
building.  Outside  of  the  building,  and  fitted  to  it  at  each 
of  the  sides,  where  there  is  a  trough,  is  a  feeding  plat- 
form eight  feet  wide,  extending  the  whole  length  of 
the  trough.  This  platform  is  inclosed  with  an  ordinary 
board  fence,  with  the  bottom  board  fitted  down  upon 
the  floor  to  prevent  ear  corn  from  being  rooted  off  the 
platform.  A  gate  in  the  fence  shuts  the  hogs  on  or  off 
tlie  platform.     The  house  on  the  three  sides  at  which 


HOG    HOUSES    AND    PENS  47 1 

troughs  are  placed  is  weatlier-boarded  up  and  down, 
but  the  siding-  only  extends  down  eight  feet  from  the 
eaves,  this  leaving  a  space  of  three  feet  between  the 
bottom  end  of  the  siding  and  the  ground,  through  which 
space  the  hogs  eat  out  of  the  trough.  The  openings  on 
the  sides  above  the  troughs  are  sliding  windows  for 
throwing  ear  corn  to  the  platform.  If  shelled  corn  is 
used  it  can  be  fed  in  the  troughs.  With  this  arrange- 
ment as  descril)ed  tlie  feeding  can  all  be  done  from  in- 
side the  house  and  it  is  impossible  for  the  hogs  to  dirty 
or  waste  the  feed ;  besides,  the  partitions  in  the  troughs 
prevent  the  hogs  from  iighting  and  pushing  one  another, 
and  it  is  much  less  work  to  clean  the  feeding  pens  when 
they  are  outside  of  tlic  building. 

A  NEBKASKAN'S  HOG  HOUSE 

The  description  iierewith  and  two  illustrations  it  con- 
tains pertain  to  a  house  and  adjacent  feeding  pens 
built  by  \\\  E.  Tobias  of  Custer  County,  Nebraska,  as 
published  in  the  Nebraska  Farmer.  The  house  is  14 
feet  8  inches  wide  by  100  feet  long,  with  5-foot  posts 
on  the  low  side  and  12-foot  on  the  high  side.  There 
is  a  \-cntilator  in  tlie  roof  every  8  feet.  The  building 
is  all  floored  with  2-inch  plank.  There  is  a  side  door  2 
feet  wide  in  each  pen  to  open  into  outside  pens  which 
are  of  the  same  width  as  the  inside  pens.  The  inside 
pens  are  4x10  feet;  outside  pens,  4x12  feet.  These  out- 
side pens  also  have  a  slide  door  2  feet  wide  which  opens 
into  a  large  yard.  These  inside  doors  slide  up  and  down 
1)}-  means  of  a  small  rope  and  a  pulley  fastened  to  the 
plate  above  the   duor.      The  other  end  of   the   rope   is 


472 


SWINE   IN    AMERICA 


fastened  to  a  hook  in  the  alleyway.  The  house  is  built 
of  drop  siding  with  shingle  roof.  The  alley,  or  feedway, 
is  4  feet  8  inches  wide.  There  is  also  a  door  the  full 
width  of  each  pen  opening  into  this  alleyway;  also  a 
trough  full  width  of  the  pens  built  in  the  floor  8  inches 
wide,  just  inside  these  4-foot  doors. 

Water  is  piped  from  a  tank  at  the  house  into  barrels 
shown  in  the  diagram.  The  barrels  each  have  a  watercr 
attached  and  hogs  have  access  to  them  at  all  times  ex- 


END  VIEW  OF  THE  TOBIAS  HOUSE  AND  PENS 


cept  when  sows  are  in  the  pens  during  the  farrowing 
period.  Then  the  troughs  are  used.  The  building  faces 
south  with  the  high  side  to  the  north.  There  is  a  half 
window  in  the  south  side  of  each  of  the  25  pens,  which 
gives  abundant  light.  There  are  also  six  of  these  small 
windows  in  the  north  side  of  the  house. 

The  plan  shows  the  pitch  and  shape  of  the  roofs,  with 
ventilators,  and  the  location  of  the  grain  bin.  This  bin 
has  doors  at  the  top  2  feet  6  inches  wide,  hinged  at  the 
top  or  bottom  as  preferred.  Each  of  these  is  10  feet 
long,  thus  making  it  more  convenient  to  fill  the  bin  than 
if  the  doors  were  smaller. 


HOG    HOUSES    AND    PENS 


473 


Ihe  floor  of  the  house  is  laid  on  cement  piers,  4 
inches  high  by  6  inches  wide,  extending  crosswise  of 
the  building  wiiere  they  connect  with  a  cement  feed- 
ing floor  on  the  north  side  which  is  loxioo  feet,  4  inches 
tliick;  and  on  the  south  side  by  another  feeding  floor  12 
XI 00  feet.  This  south  floor,  by  removing  partitions,  can 
be  used  also  as  a  feeding  floor  in  winter  or  when  not  used 
for  farrowing  sows.  The  outer  edge  of  the  cement 
work  extends  into  the  ground  2  feet  all  around.  This 
is  to  keep  the  hogs  from  rooting  under  the  floor  and  to 
keep  rats  from  working  under  it. 


1 

Cemcnf       nedmil     floor          /S?' V**' ■ -""M'i* 

t 

/?^y«-«/     Y8' ,<■.</'.                               " 

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Pe^3-¥-'/e-n,rH  /fern 

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GENERAL   PLAN    OF   THE    TOBIAS    HOUSE   AND    PENS 


CONCRETE  FLOORS 

Upon  the  question  of  which  is  the  best  floor  for  a 
hog  house,  or  whether  cement  or  concrete  makes  a  de- 
sirable floor,  especially  for  a  farrowing  pen,  men  differ, 
as  they  do  upon  most  other  questions.  As  an  example, 
I  he  experience  and  observations  of  Prof.  Robert  S.  Shaw 
of  the  Alichigan  experiment  station  prompted  him  to  de- 
clare against  the  concrete  floor  thus : 

"At  the  present  time  there  is  no  floor  in  use  in  pig- 
geries more  desirable  or  inexpensive,  considering  dura- 
bility, than  one  properly  constructed  of  concrete,  nor  can 


474  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

as  good  sanitary  conditions  he  maintained  by  the  use  of 
any  other.  And  yet,  notwithstanding  these  good  quah- 
ties,  cement  floors  are  strongly  objected  to,  and  justly 
so,  too,  on  the  ground  that  pigs  become  crippled  if  re- 
quired to  nest  in  beds  on  them  during  the  winter  season. 
Even  thougli  an  abundance  of  bedding  is  used  on  cement 
floors,  bad  results  seem  to  follow  just  the  same.  There 
are  few  worse  places  for  a  brood  sow  to  farrow  than  on 
a  cement  floor.  She  gathers  the  small  amount  of  bed- 
ding allowed  her  into  a  small  pile,  beds  on  it  and  the 
newly  born  pigs  wriggle  off  on  the  bare  floor,  which, 
being  slippery,  prevents  them  from  getting  on  their 
feet,  the  cold  floor  soon  exhausts  them,  and  they  perish. 
It  was  with  the  object  of  overcoming  these  objections  to 
the  cement  floors  that  overlays  were  used." 

Of  much  the  same  mind  is  an  Indiana  breeder  who 
writes :  "I  do  not  like  a  cement  floor,  for  it  is  always 
damp.  Then,  too,  it  is  too  cold  and  hard  and  the  pigs 
will  always  have  the  rheumatism,  and  a  cold  and  cough. 
Give  me  a  warm  house  on  runners,  one  for  each  sow 
when  it  is  time  for  her  to  farrow.  Before  that  time 
two  or  three  can  occupy  one  house  and  be  warmer." 

Examples  of  opposite  estimates  of  the  same  propo- 
sition are  afi^orded  in  letters  from  three  Iowa  farmers 
and  breeders.     One  writes,  saying: 

"Two  years  ago  I  put  down  a  floor  in  the  center  of 
my  barn  and  used  it  for  farrowing  pens.  The  sows 
raised  an  average  of  a  fraction  over  seven  pigs  each  and 
I  saw  no  sign  of  rheumatism.  Last  fall  I  floored  all 
my  pens  with  cement,  and  have  over  i8o  young  pigs  and 
no  rheumatism.     My  hogs  have  slept  on  cement  every 


HOG    HOUSES    AND    PENS  475 

night  since  they  were  farrowed,  and  I  think  the  cement 
floor  has  far  more  good  qualities  than  bad.  There  is, 
however,  considerable  difference  in  the  method  of  build- 
ing floors  which  must  be  taken  into  consideration.  First, 
there  should  be  at  least  two  or  three  inches  of  coarse 
gravel  as  a  foundation,  so  it  will  not  draw  dampness,  and 
especially  where  it  will  freeze  under  the  floor.  Second, 
the  floor  must  have  a  top  coat  made  rich  and  put  on  very 
I  bin.  The  thickness  of  cement  makes  no  difference  as 
to  moisture.  Third,  the  concrete  must  be  thoroughly 
mixed  dry,  then  sprinkled  with  water  (not  drowned  with 
water)  and  shoveled  immediately  where  wanted  and 
well  rammed  down  until  water  will  rise  to  the  top.  The 
top  coat  must  be  put  on  before  the  bottom  becomes  dry. 
The  cost  is  less  than  half  that  of  wood,  the  work  of 
cleaning  is  only  about  a  third  as  much,  and  one  has  a 
much  better  chance  to  disinfect  and  to  kill  lice  and  ticks 
or  germs.  These  will  not  breed  in  cement  and  many 
will  in  wood;  then  again,  in  case  of  disease  it  is  much 
easier  cleaned,  as  it  can  be  all  washed  or  scrubbed  with  a 
disinfectant,  which  would  be  a  job  with  the  majority  of 
wooden  floors.  I  say  learn  to  work  with  cement  and 
lay  your  own  floors." 

Another  says :  "From  my  experience  there  is  no  bet- 
ter floor  than  cement.  It  can  be  kept  dry  where  a  board 
floor  would  be  damp  much  of  the  time.  If  I  were  to 
l)uild  a  hundred  hog  houses  I  would  put  cement  floors  in 
every  one.  To  the  objection  that  the  little  pigs  get  cold 
on  cement  floors.  I  will  say  if  the  cement  is  put  in  right 
it  is  warmer  tlian  any  other  floor,  for  the  cold  air  cannot 


476  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

get  under  it.  There  is  nothing  in  the  theory  that  ce- 
ment tioors  cause  rheumatism.  There  is  no  better  floor 
than  cement;  it  is  easy  to  keep  clean  and  to  disinfect." 

Still  another  writes  by  the  same  mail :  'T  have  used  a 
cement  floor  in  my  hog  house  for  a  number  of  years  and 
I  have  never  had  a  hog-  with  rheumatism.  My  entire 
hog  house  is  made  of  cement  except  the  doors  and  win- 
dows and  roof.  It  is  20x30  feet,  with  two  cement  plat- 
forms to  feed  on.  The  main  thing  is  to  build  them  high 
enough  so  the  water  will  run  away  in  all  directions,  and 
be  sure  to  have  a  solid  foundation,  well  set  in  the  ground 
so  rats  cannot  dig  under.  Use  nothing  but  the  best  ce- 
ment and  sand.  I  have  tried  board  floors,  but  they 
soon  rot  and  are  rat  harbors.  If  I  had  to  build  again  it 
would  be  with  cement.  There  is  no  danger  of  the  little 
pigs  dying  or  ailing  if  they  are  properly  bedded." 

The  concrete  floor,  in  the  farrowing  pen  or  out  of  it, 
may  fall  short  of  perfection,  and  have  defects  which 
prevent  its  being  entirely  satisfactory,  particularly  in 
cold  weather,  for  sows  and  young  pigs — or,  in  fact,  any 
other  swine — without  sufficient  bedding  material  to  pre- 
vent the  necessity  of  their  lying  in  immediate  contact 
with  the  floor.  It  is,  however,  the  author's  opinion  that 
on  the  whole  the  merits  of  both  the  concrete  and  brick 
floors,  properly  constructed  and  used,  far  overbalance 
their  defects,  and  that  the  interests  of  swine  growers 
would  be  tremendously  promoted  by  having  in  use  ten 
lliousand  times  as  much  such  flooring  as  is  now  in  exist- 
ence. The  satisfaction  of  having  dry,  draftless,  ratless 
sleeping  floors,  or  clean,  wasteless  feeding  yards  or  plat- 
forms, such  as  can  be  inexpensively  made  from  concrete 


HOG    HOUSES    AND    PENS  477 

or  brick,  is  so  great  that  having  once  possessed  them  few 
breeders  will  be  willing  to  forego  their  use  afterward. 
The  sleeping  floor  should  be  readily  accessible  to  sun- 
shine in  the  fall,  winter  and  spring  months,  and  the  feed- 
ing floor  sufiiciently  elevated  that  mud  or  manure  will  not 
be  collected  on  it  from  the  surroundings,  and  if  it  slopes 
slightly  in  one  or  more  directions  it  can  be  far  more 
readily  cleaned ;  in  fact,  the  rains  alone  will  do  much 
toward  its  cleansing.  As  lumber  becomes  more  expen- 
sive and  difficult  to  obtain  the  subject  of  floors  and  fenc- 
ing made  of  other  materials  must  inevitably  grow  in 
importance. 

AN  OVERIiAY 

A  second  movable  floor  or  overlay  6x8  feet,  is  shown 
herewith,  in  one  corner  of  a  pen,  described  by  Professor 
Shaw,  and  sufticient  as  a  sleeping  place  for  eight  or  ten 
150-pound  shotes.  This  is  hinged  to  the  wall,  so  that 
when  the  pen  is  to  be  cleaned  the  overlay  is  tipped  up, 
bedding  and  all,  and  any  filth  which  may  have  accumu- 
lated underneath  is  cleaned  out.  After  the  floor  is 
cleaned  the  overlay  is  let  down,  the  bedding  thrown  off 
on  the  floor  for  absorbent,  and  replaced  by  fresh  bedding 
at  least  once  a  week.  When  the  overlay  is  placed  in  the 
corner  of  the  pen.  that  portion  of  the  floor  should  be 
raised  somewhat. 

The  overlay  is  raised  off  the  floor  bv  inch  cleats  which 
hold  the  bottom  boards  or  floor  together,  and  a  2x4  or 
2x6  is  fastened  to  the  outer  edges  to  hold  the  bedding  in 
place. 


478  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

Because  the  bed  of  tlie  pig  on  a  cement  floor  becomes 
(lamp  and  befouled  so  easily  it  is  excellent  to  use  over- 
lays, which  can  be  regularly  and  thoroughly  cleaned, 
especially  during  the  winter  season.  Whatever  its  taults 
may  or  may  not  be,  the  concrete  floor  permits  of  the 
maintenance  of  better  sanitary  conditions  than  any  other 
yet  used. 


PLAN  AND  LOCATION  OF  A   MOVABLE  SECOND  FLOOR. 

"In  the  use  of  overlays,"  says  Professor  Shaw,  "three 
facts  have  been  strikingly  noticeable,  viz. :  First,  swine 
invariably  use  the  overlays,  by  preference,  sleeping  on 
the  bare  boards  if  there  should  be  no  straw  on  them;  sec- 
ond, of  the  three  or  four  hundred  hogs  that  have  been 
housed  in  our  piggery,  there  are  few  instances  where  the 
bedding  on  the  overlays  has  been  fouled  by  excreta,  and 
the  tendency  to  this  is  much  less  if  the  overlays  are  in 
the  pen  corners,  where  the  pigs  are  not  trampling  over 
them;  third,  we  have  not  had  a  crippled  hog  in  our  pig- 
gery since  these  devices  have  been  in  use.     We  dislike 


HOG    HOUSES    AND    PENS  479 

the  plan  of  boarding  or  planking  over  the  entire  cement 
lloor  surface  of  a  pen  during  the  winter,  even  for  far- 
rowing-, as  dung  and  urine  work  in  between  and  under 
the  boards  or  planks,  producing  very  unsanitary  condi- 
tions." 

INDIVIDUAL  HOG   HOUSES 

In  later  years  so  called  individual  houses  "wigwams," 
or  "cots,"  of  different  forms,  but  all  to  serve  the  same 
]iurpose,  portable,  and  adapted  to  accommodate  a  sow 
with  pigs,  or  two  or  three  hogs,  are  finding  much  popular 
fa\or,  and  those  who  know  them  best  appear  to  like  them 
most.  The  experiment  station  of  \Visconsin  is  one  that 
has  issued  a  bulletin  (No.  153)  chiefly  devoted  to  their 
construction.  In  enumerating  some  of  their  advan- 
tages Professor  Fuller,  the  author  of  the  bulletin,  says : 
"'J1ie  portable  hog  house  is  easily  and  economically  con- 
structed ;  it  can  be  easily  moved  and  located  wherever 
desired ;  it  is  useful  both  to  the  general  farmer  and  to 
the  breeder  of  pure-bred  stock;  and  of  all  systems  for 
housing  swine,  it  is  the  most  natural  and  sanitary.  Only 
the  simplest  workmanship  is  necessary  to  build  the  port- 
able house,  and  much  odd  lumber  can  be  worked  into 
it.  It  is  peculiarly  advantageous  since  it  can  be  readily 
moved.  The  renter  who  finds  it  impossible  to  provide 
expensive  quarters  for  his  hogs  can  well  afford  to  con- 
struct portable  houses,  which  can  be  retained  as  personal 
property.  Many  farmers  construct  hog  houses  without 
considering  the  importance  of  sanitation,  ventilation  and 
drainage.     A  hog  house  of  any  kind  should  he  located  on 


480  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

a  high,  dry  site,  and,  if  possible,  on  soil  containing  suffi- 
cient sand  to  drain  well.  A  house  located  on  an  elevation 
may  be  somewhat  colder  in  winter,  but  it  is  much  cooler 
and  more  comfortable  in  summer.  Hogs  suffer  greatly 
from  the  extreme  heat  of  summer,  and  it  is  equally  as 
important  to  keep  them  cool  in  summer  as  it  is  to  keep 
tliem  warm  in  winter. 

"The  portable  houses  are  useful  on  any  sized  farm, 
as  the  number  can  be  regulated  to  the  size  of  the  herd. 
With  separate  paddocks  to  accommodate  swine  of  dif- 
ferent ages  and  sexes,  the  portable  house  is  practically  a 
necessity.  Swine  will  never  pile  up  in  a  damp,  poorly- 
ventilated  quarter  and  come  out  steaming  in  the  cold 
morning  air  unless  compelled  to  do  so.  Where  a  large 
number  of  animals  are  continually  housed  in  one  hog- 
house  and  fed  in  or  around  the  house,  the  surroundings 
are  sure  to  become  more  or  less  filthy  and  unsanitary. 
If  feeding  is  done  on  the  inside  it  keeps  a  portion  of  the 
floor  wet,  and  gives  the  entire  building  an  offensive,  dis- 
agreeable appearance.  On  the  other  hand,  by  using  the 
portable  house,  moving  it  occasionally  to  a  fresh  piece 
of  ground,  and  feeding  the  hogs  at  a  different  place,  one 
avoids  these  unsanitary  conditions.  These  portable 
houses  can  be  built  to  accommodate  from  four  to  six 
mature  animals  or  ten  to  20  shotes.  This  method  of 
housing  keeps  them  much  cleaner  and  more  thrifty  than 
when  allowed  to  congregate  in  larger  numbers,  and  in- 
dividuals of  a  herd  showing  evidences  of  a  contagious 
disease  can  be  readily  isolated." 

The  illustrations  at  the  first  of  this  chapter  include 
two  of  the  individual  hog  houses  at  the  Illinois  experi- 


HUG    HO  USES    AND    TENS  48 1 

nicnt  station.  One  of  these  is  set  up  and  in  position,  and 
another  illustration  represents  the  same  building  taken 
apart.  Mr.  Dietrich,  in  charge,  says:  "Some  of  these 
individual  houses  or  cots  are  built  with  four  upright 
walls  and  a  shed  roof,  each  of  which  (tlie  walls  and  roof) 
being  separate,  can  easily  be  taken  down  and  replaced, 
making  moving  an  easy  matter.  Others  are  built  with 
two  sides  sloping  in  toward  the  top  so  as  to  form  the 
roof.  These  are  on  skids,  and  when  necessary,  can  be 
moved  as  a  whole  by  a  horse.  In  fact,  they  are  built  in 
se\'eral  different  styles;  some  have  a  window  in  the  front 
and  above  the  door,  while  all  may  have  a  small  door  in 
the  rear  end  near  the  apex  for  ventilation.  They  are  also 
built  in  dift'erent  sizes.  Indeed,  there  are  about  as  many 
forms  as  there  are  individuals  using  them.  The  form  in 
which  these  houses  are  built  is  of  little  significance  so 
long  as  the  general  principles  pertaining  to  the  health  of 
the  animals  and  the  convenience  of  the  breeder  are  ob- 
served. 

"The  arguments  in  favor  of  this  type  of  house  are  that 
each  sow  at  farrowing  time  may  be  kept  alone  and  away 
from  all  disturbance ;  that  each  litter  of  pigs  may  be  kept 
and  fed  by  itself,  consequently  there  will  not  be  too  large 
a  number  of  pigs  in  a  common  lot ;  that  these  houses  may 
be  placed  at  the  farther  end  of  the  feed  lot,  thus  com- 
pelling the  sow  and  pigs  to  take  exercise,  especially  in 
winter,  when  they  come  to  the  feed  trough  at  the  front 
end  of  the  lot;  that  the  danger  of  spreading  disease 
among  the  herd  is  at  a  minimum;  and  in  case  the  place 
occupied  by  tlic  cot  becomes  unsanitary,  it  may  be  moved 
to  a  clean  location." 


482  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

The  three  hgures  which  follow  show  forms  of  cots  in 
use  at  the  Michigan  agricultural  college,  and  described 
by  Prof.  Robert  S.  Shaw,  in  station  bulletin  No.  223. 
The  first  two  are  forms  in  use  at  the  institution  for 
some  years.  The  small  A-shaped  cot  is  desirable  in  that 
it  is  warm  in  winter,  but  objectionable  in  that  it  provides 
little  protection  against  the  extreme  heat  of  summer.  It 
is  considered  a  good  form  of  cot  for  the  brood  sow  to 
farrow  in  in  moderate  weather,  as  she  cannot  lie  down 
close  enough  to  the  sloping  roof  to  crush  her  pigs 
against  a  wall.  A  common  mistake  is  made  in  fastening 
this  form  of  cot  permanently  to  the  skids,  or  runners, 
on  which  it  is  built.  These  are  the  first  to  decay  and 
along  with  them  the  lower  ends  of  the  boards,  thus 
making  repairs  impossible,  even  though  the  balance  of 
the  structure  remains  sound. 

The  second  form  of  hog  cot,  6x8  feet,  with  perpen- 
dicular sides  and  a  flat,  though  slightly  sloping  roof,  is 
made  in  five  separate  pieces,  the  four  sides  and  top  so 
constructed  as  to  bolt  together  at  the  four  corners.  This 
form  of  cot  is  warm  in  winter  but  too  warm  in  summer, 
with  its  fiat  top  exposed  to  the  sun's  rays,  and  though 
it  may  be  planned  so  that  the  top  can  be  raised  in  sum- 
mer, tliere  is  trouble  from  the  wind  occasionally  unroof- 
ing it.  It  is  also  objectionable  in  that  the  sections  are 
too  heavy  for  one  man  to  move  and  as  a  result  it  is  not 
moved  as  frequently  as  hog  cots  should  be.  Cots  should 
be  constructed  so  that  they  can  be  moved  frequently  by  a 
team  and  one  man  without  taking  the  cot  to  pieces. 

The  third  represents  a  form  of  cot  more  recently  de- 
signed.    It  is  six  by  eight  feet  at  the  foundation,  with 


nuG    HOUSES    AXU    PENS  .I83 

Ihe   sides    rising-   perpendicularly   three    feet    before    re- 
ceiving the  half-pitch  roof  boards.     The  center  boards 


MICHIGAN  EXPERIMENT  STATION   INDIVIDUAL  HOG  HOUSE 
WITH    SLOPING   SIDES 


MICHIGAN  EXPERIMENT  STATION  INDIVIDUAL  HOG  HOUSE 
WITH  PERPENDICULAR  SIDES 

on  the  sides  are  hinged  so  that  they  can  be  swung  open  in 
hot  weather;  the  opening  thus  made  is  covered  with 
strong  woven  wire,  clamped  above  and  below  between 


4*^4  SWINE   li\    AMERICA 

inch  boards;  the  inner  clamp  boards  project  an  inch 
beyond  the  outer  ones,  thus  breaking  the  joints  and  pre- 
A-enting  any  draught  when  the  openings  are  closed.  The 
two  ridge  boards  are  also  hinged  so  that  they  can  be 
opened  during  hot  weather.  These  openings  permit  a  free 
circulation  of  air,  which  not  only  lowers  the  tempera- 
ture, but  greatly  relieves  the  oppression  of  the  pigs  seek- 


A     MORE     ELABORATE     MICHIGAN     EXPERIMENT     STATION 
INDIVIDUAL   HOG    HOUSE 

ing  shelter.  The  hinged  ridge  boards  close  down  tight- 
ly, giving  warm  quarters  during  the  coldest  weather.  The 
cots  proper  are  supported  on  skids,  to  which  they  are  not 
attached,  being  held  in  place  by  the  blocking  of  the  ties 
across  both  ends.  A  two-inch  bottom  is  used  or  not,  a? 
desired;  this  flooring  is  cut  in  lengths  to  fit  crosswise 
and  rest  on  the  skids,  which  are  wider  than  the  sills.  This 
cot  is  not  desirable  for  the  farrowing  sow  without  the 
addition  of  a  railing  around  the  perpendicular  walls  a 
few  inches  from  the  floor  to  prevent  overlaying  her  pigs. 


HOG    HOUSES    AND    PENS 


485 


"Probably  the  chief  objection  to  this  structure  is  the  ex- 
pense of  material  and  cost  of  construction.  It  contains 
160  feet  of  stock  lumber,  60  feet  matched,  20  feet  four- 
by-six,  12  feet  four-by-four,  and  44  feet  two-by-four, 
and  required  two  days'  labor  in  construction.'' 

An  Ohio  breeder,  writing  of  his  experience  in  the  con- 
struction and  use  of  the  individual  hoe-  house  or  cot, 


AN      INDIVIDUAL      HOG      HOUSE      PROTECTED      IN      COLD 
WEATHER 


says:  "A  small  house,  easily  handled,  large  enough  for 
one  sow  when  she  farrows,  or  for  several  shotes  ov 
feeders,  according  to  size,  is  much  better  than  a  large 
permanent  house.  When  a  sow  farrows  in  zero  weather, 
we  cover  the  house  with  straw  or  fodder  to  make  it  abso- 
lutely safe  against  the  frost  and  cold  that  destroy  young- 
pigs  so  quickly.  The  best  door,  when  one  is  needed,  is 
a  gunny  sack,  or  something  of  that  kind,  fastened  above 
the  doorway,  and  allowed  to  hang  over  it.     It  is  only  in 


486 


SWINE   IN    AMERICA 


extreme  cold  weather  that  any  door  is  needed.  We  al- 
ways have  the  house  set  with  the  doorway  in  the  direc- 
tion from  which  comes  the  least  wind. 

"When  the  surface  is  rolling-,  lloors  to  these  houses 
will  seldom  be  needed.  The  ground  is  the  best  floor, 
under  most  conditions;  but  when  the  weather  is  very 
wet  and  the  ground  muddy,  a  plank  floor  comes  in  ex- 
cellent play.  The  floor  should  be  made  separate  from 
the  house,  and  the  house  placed  over  it,  the  floor  fitting 
neatly  inside  the  sills      When  a  plank  floor  is  used,  care 


A   GOOD    HOUSE    FOR    A   SOW    AND   YOUNG   PIGS 


should  be  taken  to  prevent  the  wind  driving  under  it. 
One  man  can  turn  one  of  these  houses  over  on  to  a  sled 
and  mo\e  it  when  desired,  which  should  be  done  when 
the  ground  floor  is  used  and  becomes  filthy.  If  disease 
strikes  the  herd,  the  houses  can  be  turned  upside  down 
that  the  sun  and  weather  may  disinfect  them. 

"A  few  years  ago  we  had  sows  farrow  the  last  of  Jan- 
uary, when  the  mercury  was  l^elow  zero.  W'e  co\^ered 
their  houses  with  fodder,  nailed  a  sack  above  the  door- 
way, and  hung  a  thermometer  inside  of  one  to  observe 
what  efifect  the  heat  of  the  sow's  body  would  have  on  the 
temperature.  We  found,  when  the  mercury  registered 
eight  degrees  below  zero  outside  the  house,  that  the  heat 


HUG    HOUSES    AND    TENS 


487 


from  the  body  of  a  sow  weighing  400  pounds  would  raise 
it  to  26  degrees  above,  inside.  We  found,  further,  that, 
by  going  into  the  house  with  a  common  lantern,  we 
could  raise  the  temperature  ten  degrees." 

On  page  486  is  shown  a  house  especially  adapted  to  ac- 
commodate a  farrowing  sow  and  her  young  pigs.     In 


nnnnnn 


eemtnt   rioor 


YARD   PLAN    FOR   PORTABLE    HOG    HOUSES   IN    CONNECTION 
WITH  PASTURE  OR  FEED  LOTS 


pleasant  weather  the  doors  can  be  left  open.  If  stormv 
or  cold,  the  larger  door  can  Ije  closed,  and  with  the 
smaller  one  open,  the  animals  may  still  be  comfortable. 
The  next  sketch,  from  Wisconsin  bulletin  No.  153, 
illustrates  a  plan  in  which  the  small  hog  houses  can  be 
made  of  much  practical  value  to  the  ordinary  farmer  in 
providing  shelter  for  the  herd.  By  locating  these  houses 
adjacent  to  the  main  farm  barn  yards,  says  Professor 
Fuller,  the  animals  have  freedom  for  exercise  and  ex- 
elusive  shelter  from  the  other  farm  stock.     Six  to  eight 


488  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

of  the  8x8  A-shaped  houses  wih  easily  accommodate  a 
carload  of  shotes.  A  feeding  floor  can  be  conveniently 
arranged  in  some  protected  quarter,  so  that  the  work  in 
caring  for  the  herd  is  reduced  to  a  minimum.  It  will  be 
found  that  by  locating  the  houses  in  a  high  and  dry 
place,  they  will  keep  in  good  condition  if  thoroughly 
bedded  once  a  week.  But  in  damp  and  muddy  seasons 
it  is  better  to  bed  them  oftener.     The  beginner  in  plan- 


A  TWO-WAY  DOOR  FOR  HOG  HOUSES 


ning  accommodations  for  swine  should  thoroughly  com- 
pare the  merits  and  the  economy  of  this  system  witli 
the  conditions  and  expense  connected  with  maintaining  a 
large  hog  house. 

A  two-way  door  for  hog  houses  or  pens  is  often  a 
great  convenience.  "It  may  be  made  of  inch  lumber,  and 
2>^  or  three  feet  square.  The  hinges  are  at  the  top  and 
are  so  constructed  that  the  door  may  swing  either  out 
or  in.     Bolted  to  the  lower  part  of  the  door  should  be 


HOG    HOrSF.S    AND    TF.NS 


489 


a  piece  of  2x4  scantling-  to  liold  it  in  place  when  the 
wind  is  blowing.  On  one  side  of  the  door  may  be 
placed,  npright,  a  piece  of  2x4  in  which  are  bored  several 
holes  so  the  door  can  be  fastened  open  as  desired,  or  it 
can  be  adjusted  so  it  will  go  only  so  far,  excluding  the 
passage  of  older  hogs  and  at  the  same  time  admit  small 
pigs  and  shoies.  On  the  other  side  may  be  ])lace(l  a  cleat 
through  which  a  pin  may  be  inserted  to  fasten  the  door 
shut. 

Herewith  is  shown  a  means  of  keeping  hogs  in  one 
lot  or  pasture,  while  cattle  with  them  are  allowed  to  use 
the  same  pasture  and  one  or  more  adjacent. 


DEVICE  FOR  KEEPING  HOGS  SEPARATED  FROM  CATTLE 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Sanitation  in  the  Hog  Lot 

A  practical  understanding  of  the  best  general  methods 
in  sanitation  and  disinfection  is  as  important  as  any  other 
feature  of  profitable  swine  husbandry.  The  hog  raiser 
who  neglects  to  care  for  the  health  and  cleanliness  of 
his  animals  is  likely  to  see  his  own  profits  vanish  and  to 
affect  those  of  his  more  careful  neighbor  as  well.  He 
owes  it  to  his  community,  as  well  as  to  himself,  to  be 
alert  and  energetic  in  preventing  and  eradicating  dis- 
eases of  vermin. 

A  great  danger  to  hogs  exists  in  specific  germ  dis- 
eases distributed  by  bacteria  and  which  cannot  be  directly 
caused  by  either  breeding  or  feeding.  Such  diseases 
are  encouraged  by  filthy  and  carelessly  kept  houses  and 
feed  lots,  and  constant  cleanliness  is  the  most  effective 
means  of  preventing  their  dissemination.  Where  the 
bacteria  have  been  established,  an  absolutely  thorough 
disinfection  will  usually  be  successful  in  eradicating 
them.  A  good  rule,  in  any  case  of  doubt,  is  to  disinfect 
as  a  preventive  measure,  and  some  large  feeders  take  it 
for  granted  that  every  new  animal  purchased  may  be 
an  infected  one  and  treat  it  accordingly. 

QUARANTINING 

A  farm  from  or  to  which  much  traveling  of  swine  is 
common  should  have  a  regular  system  of  quarantine. 

490 


SANITATION   IN    THE    HOG  LOT  49I 

Show  hogs  ought  to  be  kept  in  isolated  quarters  for  at 
least  20  da3'S  after  returning  to  the  farm.  The  same  prac- 
tice should  apply  when  newly  purchased  hogs  are  brought 
in,  and  especially  those  coming  from  or  through  stock 
}ards  or  from  considerable  distances.  Isolation  for 
this  length  of  time  will  determine  whether  disease  exists 
in  any  of  the  animals  and  prevent  its  spread  to  others. 

In  case  of  an  outbreak  of  ''cholera"  or  swine  plague, 
too  rigid  a  quarantine  cannot  be  established  against  all 
neighboring  farms.  This  should  apply  to  dogs  and  poul- 
try, as  well  as  neighbors  or  casual  visitors.  The  con- 
tagion is  easily  carried,  even  from  a  road,  and  may  be 
brought,  as  has  been  well  established,  by  dogs  going 
from  one  farm  to  another,  or  by  crows,  and  on  the 
shoes  of  visitors  or  the  wheels  of  vehicles  that  have  been 
in  the  infected  district.  The  bacteria  are  very  easily 
carried  and  too  much  caution  cannot  be  observed  when 
cholera  is  known  to  be  in  or  near  the  neighborhood.  The 
farmer  himself  should  not  visit  the  farms  of  others 
where  disease  is  known  to  be  prevalent. 

METHODS   OF   DISIXFECTIOX 

When  one  of  the  serious  contagious  diseases  appears, 
the  methods  to  eradicate  it  should  not  be  half-hearted. 
The  best  methods  are  condensed  into  the  following  para- 
graph from  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  205,  issued  by  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture: 

"The  quarters  in  which  the  sickness  first  appeared 
shoukl  be  thoroughly  cleaned,  all  bedding  and  rubbish 
burned,   and   loose  boards  and   old   partitions  torn   out 


49-  SWINE   IN    AMERICA 

and  burned.  If  the  pen  is  old,  knock  it  to  pieces  and 
l)urn  it.  Disinfect  pens  and  sleeping  places,  using  air- 
slaked  lime  on  the  floors  and  the  carbolic  acid  solution 
on  the  walls  and  ceilings.  Whitewash  everything.  If 
a  hog  dies,  burn  the  carcass  or  bury  it  deeply  out  of 
the  reach  of  crows,  buzzards,  or  dogs.  If  possible,  do 
not  move  the  carcass  from  the  place  where  it  falls;  but 
if  this  cannot  be  done,  the  ground  over  which  it  is 
dragged  should  be  disinfected.  Hog  cholera  bacilli  can 
live  in  the  ground  for  at  least  three  months.  Care  must 
be  taken  to  maintain  an  absolute  quarantine  between  the 
sick  and  well  hogs.  The  same  attendant  should  not 
care  for  both  lots  unless  he  disinfects  himself  thoroughly 
after  each  visit  to  the  infected  hogs.  Dogs  should  be 
confined  until  the  disease  is  stamped  out." 

Approved  methods,  particularly  as  relating  to  hog- 
cholera,  are  treated  further  under  Chapter  XXIII,  in  the 
section  relating  to  cholera. 

DIPPING  AND  SPRAYING 

It  is  sometimes  found  more  convenient  to  spray  hogs 
than  to  install  a  dipping  vat  for  them,  but  spraying  is 
likely  to  leave  untouched  some  portions  of  the  animal, 
particularly  behind  the  ears  and  in  wrinkles,  and  may  not 
always  be  effective.  Immersion  in  a  vat,  however,  is 
thorough  and  preferable,  particularly  for  lice  or  fleas. 
Most  of  the  prepared  dips  have  some  advantageous 
qualities  when  swallowed,  and  dipping  is  said  on  that 
account  to  be  additionally  effective  for  intestinal  worms. 
Dr.   A.   T.    Peters  of  the   Nebraska  experiment  station 


SANITATION    IN    THE    HOG  LOT  493 

makes  the  following  strong  statements  (Bulletin  No.  74) 
relative  to  clipping  swine  for  lice:  "It  has  been  known 
to  the  intelligent  hog  breeder  that  the  presence  of  in- 
sects on  the  hog  is  a  very  serious  matter.  It  is  a  fact 
that  very  few  hogs  are  free  from  lice,  and  that  breeders 
have  been  accustomed  to  use  various  remedies  for  the 
destruction  of  the  pest.  The  favorite  seats  of  lice  on 
the  hog  are  back  of  the  ears,  along  the  neck  and  under 
the  breast.  These  vermin  are  bloodsuckers,  and  they 
produce  in  a  short  time  a  very  weak,  debilitated  condition 
of  the  animal,  making  him  far  more  susceptible  to  other 
diseases  that  the  animal  is  heir  to.  The  louse  has  not 
been  credited  with  occasioning  serious  loss,  but  of  late 
years  more  attention  has  been  given  to  this.  We  have 
found  that  the  hog  louse  becomes  a  more  serious  enemy 
when  hogs  are  out  of  condition.  If  the  accompanying 
conditions  are  bad,  especially  if  the  pens  are  excessively 
dusty,  and  through  the  inhalation  of  an  excessive  amount 
of  dust  there  should  be  a  slight  pneumonia  of  the  lungs, 
the  animal  badly  affected  with  lice  will  be  all  the  more 
apt  to  die. 

"We  have  found  also  that  where  animals  affected  with 
cholera  were  free  from  lice,  there  was  a  much  smaller 
percentage  of  loss.  This  has  been  brought  to  our  atten- 
tion after  examining  numerous  herds  during  the  last 
five  years.  The  first  rule  that  we  now  insist  upon  when 
we  visit  an  outbreak  of  cholera  is  to  examine  for  lice, 
and,  if  present,  to  thoroughly  destroy  these  vermin.  The 
breeding  pens  and  hog  houses  are  also  thoroughly  dis- 
infected. All  the  bedding  that  is  found  in  pens  and  hog 
houses  at  time  of  disinfection  is  burned.     The  method 


494-  SWINE    IX    AMERICA 

that  we  have  for  disinfecting  the  pens  and  houses  is  af 
follows:  For  the  stables  we  prefer  to  use  hot  water 
and  any  of  the  coal  tar  preparations,  such  as  zenoleum. 
chloro-naphtholeum,  and  similar  preparations.  This  is 
done  by  making  a  three  per  cent  solution  of  either  of 
these  preparations  and  using  it  liberally  with  broom  and 
brush  and  also  with  a  spray  pump.  Spray  pumps  used 
for  spraying  trees  answer  the  purpose  admirably. 

"After  the  stables  and  pens  are  thoroughly  disin- 
fected, the  animals  should  be  disinfected  also.  This  can 
be  done  by  dipping  them,  which  is  a  far  easier  method 
than  any  other.  Of  course  it  necessitates  a  dipping  tank. 
These  dipping  tanks  can  be  bought  on  the  market  very 
reasonably.  If  one  is  not  in  favor  of  using  the  dipping 
tank,  or  does  not  feel  warranted  in  spending  the  amount 
that  it  would  cost  to  purchase  one,  a  spray  pump  will 
do  the  work ;  but  in  spraying  hogs  one  should  have  them 
on  a  wooden  floor,  and  must  have  quite  a  large  and 
forcible  pump,  so  that  they  can  be  thoroughly  saturated 
with  the  liquid.  If  sprayed,  they  should  also  be  rubbed 
with  a  broom  immediately,  so  that  the  fluid  will  soak  well 
into  the  skin.  The  solution  that  we  recommend  is  from 
three  to  four  per  cent  for  grown  hogs  and  about  three 
per  cent  for  small  pigs.  In  our  experience  we  have  not 
found  any  harm  resulting  from  dipping  very  young 
pigs. 

"Spraying  and  dipping  for  lice  can  be  highly  recom- 
mended, as  it  is  the  only  safe,  rational  thing  to  do  if  hogs 
are  infested;  and,  as  stated  above,  there  is  not  a  breeder 
who  lias  not  been  troubled  with  these  vermin.  The 
remedy  is  to  dip,  and  dip  often.     It  aids  the  very  best 


SANITATION    IN    TlIK    HOG    LOT  495 

hiilanced  ration  that  can  be  given  to  a  hog,  by  enabling 
liini  to  thrive  and  assimilate  the  food  administered. 
Breeders  w^ho  have  begun  to  dip  their  hogs  find  it  very 
economical  and  a  very  efficient  method  of  ridding  the 
animals  of  vermin.  Tlie  coal  tar  preparations — chloro- 
oaphtholeum,  zenoleum,  Lincoln  dip,  and  Lee's  carbolic 
dip — leave  the  skin  in  a  very  soft,  pliable  condition,  and 
I  believe  that  it  is  a  very  economical  and  sensible  way 
out  of  this  difficulty. 

"I  do  not  wish  to  convey  the  idea  that  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  procure  a  dipping  tank.  I  have  known  in- 
stances where  our  American  farmer,  witli  his  genius  for 
making  the  most  of  his  surroundings,  has  soon  impro- 
vised a  proper  tank  with  very  little  cost.  It  is  the  pur- 
pose to  urge  every  grower  of  swine  to  dip  his  hogs  at 
least  every  three  to  four  weeks  to  have  the  very  best 
success,  and  also  to  use  liberally  any  of  these  dips  in  his 
liog  pens;  by  doing  this  he  will  attain  the  best  results 
and  in  a  great  measure  prevent  infectious  diseases  from 
gaining  a  foothold  on  his  premises." 

Rommel  (Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  205)  says:  "One  of 
tlie  most  effective  and  cheapest  preparations  to  use  as  a 
dip  is  a  two  per  cent  solution  of  creolin.  The  common  t(v 
bacco  dips  used  for  sheep  scab  are  also  efficacious.  If 
the  hogs  are  washed,  apply  the  solution  with  a  broom; 
if  they  are  sprayed,  use  an  ordinary  spray  pump;  for 
dipping,  use  a  dipping  tank.  When  being  washed  or 
sprayed,  the  hogs  should  stand  on  a  tight  board  floor. 
Newly  purchased  hogs  should  be  carefully  examined 
for  vermin,  and  they  should  not  be  turned  with  the 
herd  until  they  are  known  to  be  free  from  these  pests." 


49^  SWINE   IN   AMERICA 

A    SELF-DIPPIXG   DEV^ICE 

Prof.  J.  H.  Shepard  of  the  South  Dakota  experimeiit 
station,  and  a  practical  breeder  of  swine  on  his  own  ac- 
count, has  devised  a  means  whereby  his  hogs  shall  dip 
themselves.  He  has  found  that  by  having  in  the  hog- 
lots  or  pasture  a  bath  tank  filled  or  partly  filled  with 
water,  in  which  has  been  stirred  a  quart  or  two  of  good 
dip,  the  hogs  will  do  enough  bathing  in  tliis  mixture  to 
keep  them  free  from  lice  and  their  skins  in  the  very  pink 
of  condition.  It  seems  that  the  addition  of  the  "dip" 
does  not  make  the  water  objectionable  to  the  hog  for 
bathing  purposes,  and  in  warm  weather  time  that  might 
otherwise  be  given  to  filthy  wallows  will  be  spent  in 
this  valuable  disinfecting  mixture. 

He  writes  the  author,  saying:  "The  tanks  are  eight 
feet  square  and  ten  inches  deep,  built  of  two-inch  planks, 
and  they  are  all  connected  with  a  large  water  tank  by 
pipes  fitted  with  valves.  I  use  about  one  quart  of  dip  to 
a  tank  three-fourths  full  of  water.  This  is  renewed 
about  once  in  two  weeks,  depending  on  the  weather.  The 
water  is  supplied  as  necessary.  All  that  is  needed  is  to 
open  a  valve  and  let  it  run  in.  In  muddy  times  it  is 
best  to  clean  out  the  tank  and  take  a  fresh  start.  This 
can  be  done  in  five  minutes  with  a  scoop  shovel,  I  have 
used  Kreso  dip  with  excellent  results,  and  I  can  say  the 
same  of  zenoleum.  I  have  noticed  when  the  tanks  are 
first  filled  with  fresh  water,  and  after  the  dip  has  been 
added,  that  the  pigs  will  keep  taking  small  drinks  of  the 
mixture  as  if  they  liked  it.  I  have  an  idea,  too,  that  this 
helps  to  keep  worms  out  of  my  herd.  Of  course  I  also 
have  slaked  lime  and  coal  ashes  where  the  hogs  can  help 


SANITATION    IN    THE    HOG   LOT  497 

themselves.  The  results  obtained  from  the  tanks  are  so 
good  that  I  could  not  think  of  getting  along  without 
them.  Aly  herd  is  now  ten  years  old,  and  a  record  of 
no  lice  or  skin  disease  and  no  cholera  in  all  this  time 
ought  to  satisfy  au}^  reasonable  man.  It  is  no  unconi- 
mon  thing  to  see  one  of  these  bathtubs  crowded  full  of 
pigs  bathing  and  disinfecting  and  cooling  themselves." 
The  Farmer's  Voice  describes  the  most  primitive  and 
simple  dipping  or  self-cleansing  device  yet  suggested,  as 
follows:  "Dig  a  hole  in  the  hog  lot  or  pasture,  and  till 
it  several  inches  deep  with  water  on  a  hot  day.  Pour 
into  this  half  a  gallon  of  coal  oil  or  some  other  good 
lice-killing  liquid  such  as  zenoleum,  call  the  pigs  to  the 
water  hole  and  they  will  soon  do  the  rest.  This  coal-oil- 
water-mud  bath  should  be  repeated  at  intervals  of  about 
a  week,  two  or  three  times,  when  the  lice  will  all  dis- 
appear. It  is  so  easy  and  inexpensive  that  no  pig  grower 
should  be  troubled  with  lice  in  hot  weather  when  pigs 
will  so  readily  wallow  in  any  water  or  a  mud  hole  in 
the  ground." 

THE  HOG  LOUSE 

The  illustrations  on  page  498  show,  much  magnified,  a 
half-grown  hog  louse,  and  the  eggs  from  which  the  lice 
are  hatched.  The  following  information  and  description 
are  by  Prof.  C.  P.  Gillette,  entomologist  at  the  Iowa 
experiment  station :  "In  the  center  is  shown  a  portion  of 
the  leg  of  a  mature  louse.  It  differs  from  that  of  the 
half-grown  specimen,  by  showing- plainly  a  second  joint 
in  the  claw.     A  full-grown  louse  is  three-sixteenths  of 


498 


SWIXE    IX    AMERICA 


ail  inch  long.  The  color  is  a  dirty,  bluish  gray.  The 
sliarp  claws  seen  in  the  illustration  are  not  used  to  hurt 
the  pig,  but  are  fur  the  purpose  of  clasping  the  hairs 
tightly,  from  which  it  is  not  easy  to  remove  the  lice.  The 
food  is  taken  through  a  sharp  rostrum  or  beak,  which  is 
thrust  into  the  skin  of  the  host.  The  beak  is  not  shown 
in  the  illustration  here,  as  it  is  always  retracted  when 
not  in  use. 


HOG  LOUSE  HALF  GROWN,  AND  EGGS 


"The  sketch  represents  three  eggs.  From  one  to  a 
half-dozen  eggs  may  be  found  in  this  way  fastened  to  a 
single  hair.  They  are  three  sixty-fourths  of  an  inch  in 
length,  and  the  lower  or  inner  end  is  ahvays  attached  by 
means  of  a  tough,  gluey  substance  that  usually  incloses 
the  hair.  The  upper  or  outer  end  of  the  egg  is  the  one 
from  which  the  louse  makes  its  exit.  This  end  has  a 
somewhat  darker  colored  cap.  which  is  pushed  ofif  by  the 
young  louse  before  coming  forth.  The  egg  is  wdiite  in 
color,  and  is  covered  with  small,  regularly  arranged  pits 


SANITATION   IN    THE   HOG   LOT  499 

or  punctures,  gixing-  the  surface  a  honeycomb  appear- 
ance. These  Hce  are  often  spoken  of  as  occurring  only 
upon  poor  animals,  but  those  that  I  have  seen  have  been 
equally  numerous  upon  the  fattest  and  best  pigs.  It 
would  be  more  correct  to  say  that  pigs  upon  which  lice 
haxe  long  been  abundant  are  always  poor,  which  would 
make  the  presence  of  the  lice  the  cause  of  the  poor  con- 
dition of  the  animal,  and  not  the  poor  condition  of  the 
animal  the  cause  of  the  lice. 

"Uncleanliness  is  often  spoken  of  as  the  cause  of  ver- 
min upon  man  and  beast.  Filthiness  may  furnish  the 
conditions  under  which  these  insects  increase  more 
rapidly,  but  nothing  in  the  world  can  produce  a  louse  l)ut 
the  egg  of  a  louse,  hence,  the  only  possible  cause  of  lice 
is  lice.  It  is  not  because  of  uncleanliness  that  a  child 
gels  lousy,  but  it  is  because  of  uncleanliness  and  unpar- 
donable shiftlessness  that  he  is  permitted  to  remain  lousy 
and  to  scatter  the  infection  among  his  associates,  and 
exactly  the  same  rule  applies  in  the  case  of  domestic  ani- 
mals. So,  if  one  has  stock  of  any  sort  free  from  ver- 
min, it  is  of  prime  importance  that  it  be  not  allowed  to 
associate  with  animals  that  are  not  also  known  to  ])e 
free  from  such  infection.  Before  a  strange  animal  is 
allowed  to  enter  a  herd  it  should  always  receive  careful 
inspection,  and,  if  found  to  have  lice,  it  should  be  kept 
by  itself  and  treated  until  entirely  freed  from  them. 

"If  it  is  not  thought  best  to  use  kerosene  emulsion,  a 
strong  tobacco  decoction,  a  strong  soap  suds,  or  an  oiling 
with  kerosene  and  lard  mixed,  in  the  proportion  of  one 
part  of  kerosene  to  three  or  four  parts  of  lard,  would 


500  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

probably  prove  effectual  and  would  not  be  harmful  to 
the  animal." 

DISINFECTIXG   INFECTED   PREMISES 

Dr.  W.  B.  Niles  says :  "It  is  a  well-known  fact  that 
yards  or  other  inclosures  in  which  hogs  have  died  of 
cholera,  remain,  for  a  time  at  least,  infective,  and  will 
communicate  the  disease  to  susceptible  swine  placed 
therein.  Consequently  if  new  animals  are  brought  on 
the  farm,  new  yards  must  be  provided  for  them,  or  the 
old  yards,  sheds,  etc.,  must  be  made  safe  by  a  thorough 
disinfection.  Owing  to  the  difficulty  attending  thorough 
disinfection,  and  the  impossibility  of  determining  when 
the  premises  are  rid  of  all  cholera  germs,  it  is  always 
advisable  to  provide  new  quarters,  if  possible,  when  re- 
stocking the  farm.  In  doing  this,  however,  the  mis- 
take must  not  be  made  of  using  the  same  troughs, 
buckets,  etc.,  for  the  new  animals. 

"It  often  occurs,  however,  that  new  yards  cannot  be 
provided,  and  the  old  premises  must  be  used  if  new 
animals  are  introduced.  The  length  of  time  necessary 
for  the  natural  disinfection  of  the  place — that  is,  for 
the  destruction  of  the  virus  by  means  of  sun,  air,  etc.— 
is  not  definitely  known,  and  no  doubt  varies,  depending 
upon  the  season  and  condition  of  the  yards.  The  writer 
has  noted  several  instances  where  the  virus  seemed  to 
have  retained  its  infective  nature  over  winter,  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  has  seen  yards  refilled  the  same  summer 
without  a  recurrence  of  the  disease. 

"Having  satisfactorily  disposed  of  the  dead  animals, 
it  is  necessary  to  destroy  all  troughs  used  by  the  dis- 


SANITATION    IN    THE    HOG   LOT  5OI 

cased  swine.  All  recovered  swine,  and  especially  those 
that  ha\'e  been  very  sick,  should  be  kept  apart  from  the 
new  hogs  brought  on  the  place.  Before  attempting  dis- 
infection, all  manure  and  other  litter  must  be  removed, 
and  scattered  on  some  part  of  the  farm  not  accessible  to 
the  hogs. 

"Experiments  have  shown  that  many  of  the  disinfec- 
tants in  conmion  use,  have  the  power  to  destroy  the 
cholera  virus,  and  that,  consequently,  if  the  nature  ot 
the  place  to  be  freed  from  infection  is  such  that  the 
cleansing  agent  can  come  in  contact  with  the  virus,  dis- 
infection is  easy.  For  example,  in  the  hog  cholera  ex- 
periments conducted  by  the  government,  closed  pens 
with  board  floors  are  easily  and  successfully  cleaned, 
but  swine  pens  with  dirt  floors  and  yards  present  an  en- 
tirely different  problem,  as  the  virus  penetrates  the  soil 
and  litter,  is  not  readily  reached,  and  can  only  be  de- 
stroyed by  a  large  quantity  of  the  preparation  used,  thus 
rendering  the  operation  impracticable. 

"In  the  disinfection  of  buildings,  sheds,  floors,  etc., 
the  idea  is  to  use  some  solution  destructive  to  the  virus 
and  in  such  a  way  that  it  will  come  in  contact  with,  and 
saturate,  all  parts  of  the  pen.  There  must  be  no  un- 
touched places  where  the  germs  may  escape  destruction. 
For  the  application  of  the  disinfecting-  solution  nothing 
is  so  effective  as  a  good  spray  pump,  the  nozzle  being 
adjusted  at  times  so  as  to  throw  a  solid  stream  for  pene- 
trating cracks  and  cre\iccs.  A  sufficient  quantity  of 
the  solution  must  l)c  used  to  thorouglily  soak  through 
.iiiv  litter  on  floors,  all  dirt  in  the  cracks  between  the 


502  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

Doards,  etc.  In  the  absence  of  a  spray  pump,  the  appli- 
cation can  be  made  with  a  whitewash  brush  or  by  means 
of  a  broom.  By  this  process,  the  shed,  pen,  or  building 
can  be  rendered  entirely  safe  for  the  new  animals,  no 
matter  how  susceptible  to  cholera.  Yard  fences  can  be 
treated  in  the  same  way.  The  ground  is  not  so  easily 
cleansed.  It  is  true  that  the  ground  can  be  treated  the 
same  as  a  floor,  but  a  very  large  quantity  of  solution 
would  be  required.  It  would  be  necessary,  in  order  to  be 
thorough,  to  saturate  the  soil  probably  several  inches 
deep.  Partial  disinfection  of  the  ground  can,  of  course, 
be  accomplished  by  wetting  the  surface.  The  spreading 
of  lime  thickly  over  the  surface  accomplishes  the  same 
result,  and  is  a  good  practice,  but  it  cannot  be  relied 
upon  for  complete  disinfection.  Plowing  yards  buries 
much  of  the  infection  beneath  the  surface  and  thereby 
lessens  the  danger,  but  does  not  make  swine  entirely  safe 
until  the  lapse  of  considerable  time. 

"For  making  the  disinfecting  solutions  referred  to, 
several  preparations  may  be  used.  Crude  carbolic  acid, 
zenoleum,  chloro-naphtholeum  and  chloride  of  lime,  com- 
monly known  as  bleaching  powder,  have  been  much  used. 
Crude  carbolic  acid  is  cheap,  but  has  the  fault  of  mixing 
poorly  with  water.  For  cheapness  and  effectiveness,  few 
preparations  surpass  or  equal  chloride  of  lime.  Used 
in  the  strength  of  from  five  to  six  ounces  to  a  gallon  of 
water,  it  has.  in  the  hands  of  the  writer,  proven  effectual 
in  destroying  the  most  virulent  cholera  virus. 

"Much  depends  upon  the  thoroughness  of  the  appli- 
cation. If  thorough  work  be  done,  buildings  and  all  pens 
with  floors  can  be  safely  used  at  once,  but  yards,  even 


SANITATION    IN    THE    HOG    LOT  503 

when  cleaned  by  the  removal  of  litter,  the  liming  of  the 
most  infected  parts,  and  plowing,  should  stand  for  some 
time  before  being  used  again  for  susceptible  animals. 

"One  great  advantage  possessed  by  the  individual  hog 
house,  so  much  used,  is  that  it  can  be  easily  disinfected 
and  removed  to  new  yards  in  cholera  times. 

"To  the  cattle  feeder  who  must  restock  his  infected 
yards,  or  suffer  the  loss  of  valuable  hog  feed,  the  ques- 
tion is  a  most  important  one.  A  thorough  disinfection 
of  such  premises  is  impossible,  but  something  can  be 
accomplished  by  cleaning  the  sleeping  quarters,  destroy- 
ing the  old  troughs,  etc.  After  putting  the  yards  in 
as  good  condition  as  is  possible  under  the  circumstances. 
and  waiting  a  short  time,  the  owner  can  restock  with 
danger  of  but  little  loss,  providing  large  animals  are 
bought.  Larger  hogs  have  more  immunity  and  in  case 
tiie  disease  again  appears,  they  can  be  shipped  to  mar- 
ket on  the  first  indication  of  trouble.  On  the  other  hand, 
small  shotes  are  very  susceptible  to  cholera,  and  being 
too  small  for  slaug-hter,  are  a  total  loss." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Castration 

The  necessity  of  castrating  the  boar  pigs  for  jKjrk- 
niaking  purposes  is  generally  admitted,  but  the  impor- 
tance of  spaying  such  sows  as  are  not  designed  for  breed- 
ers has  never  been  appreciated  as  it  should,  or  as  it  is 
likely  to  be  when  the  rearing  of  swine  is  conducted  on 
such  business  principles  as  its  importance  demands. 
Open  sows,  running  with  other  stock  hogs,  are  a  source 
of  great  annoyance,  and  where  more  than  two  or  three 
are  kept,  there  is  scarcely  a  time  when  some  of  their 
number  are  not  in  heat,  and  continually  chasing  the 
others,  thus  keeping  them  in  a  worried,  fevered  condi- 
tion, extremely  prejudicial  to  growth  or  fattening.  If 
all  are  properly  sprayed,  this  is  avoided,  the  hogs  are 
quiet  and  restful,  and  much  time,  annoyance  and  feed 
are  saved. 

.Ml  feeders  agree  that  no  animals  in  the  swine  herd 
feed  more  kindly  and  profitably  than  spayed  sows,  and 
there  are  no  buyers  who  would  not  as  soon,  or  sooner, 
have  them  than  barrows,  when  they  would  not  buy  a  lot 
of  open  sows  at  any  price.  An  open  sow,  when  fat, 
of  the  same  dimensions  externally  as  a  spayed  sow  or  a 
barrow,  generally  weighs  from  ten  to  20  pounds  iess. 

To  the  feeder,  the  buyer,  or  the  butcher,  unspayed 
sows  are  usually,  in  one  way  or  another,  a  cheat,  as  they 
may  weigh  more  than  they  are  worth  from  having  a 

504 


CASTRATION  505 

litter  of  pigs  in  them,  or  may  l)e  utterly  destitute  of  in- 
side fat,  from  having  recently  suckled  pigs;  in  either 
case  they  are  of  less  \alue  than  their  appearance  would 
indicate.  Spayed  sous  are  not  troublesome  to  their 
mates,  are  as  good  as  they  look  for  feeding  or  market- 
ing, and  command  in  all  markets  such  prices  as  are  paid 
for  none  but  first-class  stock. 

TO   CASTRATE    A    BOAR 

An  expert  says :  ''As  to  the  time  for  castrating  boars, 
do  it  whenever  most  comenient,  and  the  best  way  is  the 
way  understood  by  every  old  farmer,  unless  the  hog  is 
ruptured,  in  which  case  the  striffen  around  the  seed 
(called  the  scrotal  sack)  should  be  taken  out  with  the 
seed,  and  the  seed  string  tied  within  the  neck  of  the 
scrotal  sack  with  a  small  twine.  \\'hen  this  is  done,  cut 
off  the  seed  sack,  and  all  behind  the  tie,  and  let  the  hog 
go.  I  do  not  like  sewing  up,  as  large  tumors  sometimes 
result  from  so  doing.  Should  maggots  develop  in  the 
gash  where  a  hog  has  been  cut,  apply  either  turpentine, 
kerosene  or  buttermilk." 

TO  CASTRATE  A  RIDGLING 

"In  a  ridgling  hog  the  seeds  are  not  in  a  scrotal  sack 
or  in  their  proper  place,  but  in  the  body  of  the  animal, 
immediately  behind  the  kidneys.  He  should  be  cut  in 
the  side,  the  same  as  in  spaying  a  sow.  but  the  incision 
should  be  madt>  of  sufficient  size  to  admit  the  whole  hand, 
when  the  seeds  can  be  found  and  easilv  withdrawn. 


506  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

If  a  boar  is  properly  castrated  five  months  before 
slaughtering  there  should  be  no  disagreeable  flavor  or 
odor  to  his  flesh.  In  case  of  incomplete  castration,  or 
where  enough  of  a  gland  was  left  to  keep  up  sexual  ex- 
citement, the  meat  might  still  be  affected.  When  the 
animal  is  alive  there  is  no  way  to  determine  positively 
whether  or  not  its  flesh  is  free  from  offensive  taint. 
Usually  if  the  wound  caused  by  castration  has  healed, 
and  the  activity  and  instincts  peculiar  to  a  boar  have 
disappeared,  and  he  has  become  fat,  the  meat  will  be 
edible.  The  meat  of  boars  five  or  six  months  old  can 
usually  be  eaten  six  weeks  after  castration.  The  flavor 
usually  begins  to  disappear  as  soon  as  sexual  activity 
ceases,  and  the  animal  begins  to  fatten ;  and  it  should  be 
entirely  gone  by  the  time  the  average  fleshed  boar  is  well 
fitted  for  market. 

TO   SPAY  SOWS 

"One  man  should  be  in  the  pen  to  catch,  and  two  to 
hold  the  sow,  by  the  feet  alone,  flat  on  the  ground  on  her 
right  side,  and  stretched  out  tightly.  The  spayer,  kneel- 
ing at  the  sow's  back,  will  cut  the  hair  off  of  the  place 
where  the  incision  is  to  be  made  (a  little  back  of  the  last 
rib,  and  about  midway  up  and  down)  ;  then  cut  a  gash — 
if  on  a  hundred-pound  shote,  about  one-half  inch  deep 
and  3  inches  long,  up  and  down ;  slip  the  flesh  back  each 
way,  about  an  inch,  making  a  round  gash  or  wide  in- 
cision;  then  turn  the  knife,  and  stick  the  blade  straight 
in,  gently,  deep  enough  to  go  through  the  peritoneal 
lining,  or  inside  striffen,  at  the  upper  corner  of  the  in- 
cision.    Then  put  the  left  forefinger  in,  and  with  it  and 


At  Hog-Killiii'  Time  on  the  Farm 


If  ■aHHIL,-;  .   W. 


SI 

O  i 

H  « 

^° 
O  w 

as  « 

^■^ 

O 
0: 


CASTRATION  507 

the  right  forefinger  tear  the  licile  large  enough  to  allow 
working  room  for  the  fingers ;  feel  inside  near  the  back, 
with  the  first  two  fingers  of  the  left  hand,  for  the  "pride," 
a  little  knotty  lump,  which  cannot  be  mistaken,  for  there 
are  no  others  like  it  within  reach,  but  if  it  is  not  found, 
as  is  sometimes  the  case,  then  feel  for  small  guts,  called 
the  "pig-bag,"  and  take  them  out  the  best  you  can,  until 
the  first  "pride"  is  reached;  take  this  off;  follow  back 
down  the  pig-bag  to  a  fork  where  two  guts  coming  to- 
gether form  a  larger  one,  as  two  branches  running  to- 
gether form  a  creek ;  here  take  up  the  other  branch  until 
the  lower  "pride"  is  reached ;  take  it  off,  put  the  pig-bag 
back  in  good  order,  and  see  that  it  is  all  in  the  belly 
j)roper,  and  not  left  at  the  gash. 

"Slack  up  the  upper  hind  leg,  so  as  to  close  the  gash, 
and  sew  up  with  two  stitches,  taking  good  hold,  but 
going  only  skin  deep;  one  stitch  near  the  middle  of  the 
gash,  the  other  above  it;  draw  the  edges  together,  so  as 
to  touch  from  the  middle  of  the  gash  upward.  Both 
stitches  may  be  taken  before  tying  either,  and  then  tie 
the  threads  or  twine,  crossing  each  other,  in  the  form  of 
a  letter  X,  and  when  the  sow  is  let  go  press  the  hand  over 
the  gash  as  she  starts  off.  The  thread  or  twine  used 
should  not  be  too  harsh  or  too  tightlv  twisted." 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Slaughtering  and  Curing 

Of  course  the  most  favorable  season,  generally,  for 
slaughtering  and  safely  caring  for  his  pork  by  the  farm- 
er, is,  all  things  considered,  the  early  weeks  of  winter. 
If  the  hogs  have  been  fattened  in  the  months  of  most 
suitable  weather,  that  is,  in  autumn,  when  it  could  be 
done  most  economically,  they  are  ready,  and  the  tem- 
perature of  winter  in  most  latitudes  is  such  that  there  is 
almost  no  danger  of  the  meat's  souring  or  spoiling  be- 
fore the  process  of  curing  is  gotten  well  under  way.  Be- 
sides, there  is  an  absence  of  flies  in  the  cold  weather. 
The  great  packing  institutions,  with  their  facilities  for 
cooling  and  refrigerating,  can  carry  on  their  slaughter- 
ing operations  throughout  the  entire  year;  in  fact,  in- 
stead of  as  formerly,  they  now  kill  more  hogs  in  the 
warm  months  than  in  winter,  but  this  would  be  entirely 
impracticable  for  the  ordinary  farmer. 

On  the  farms  little  progress  has  been  made  in  slaugh- 
tering and  curing  beyond  the  primitive  methods  in  use  a 
century  ago,  notwithstanding  that  in  city  packing  es- 
tablishments such  methods  have  been,  in  many  respects, 
completely  revolutionized  or  abandoned.  The  old  way 
of  stunning  the  hog  by  knocking  on  or  shooting  in  the 
head,  freeing  of  blood  by  cutting  into  the  neck  to  sever 
tlie  jugular  vein,  scalding  in  a  barrel  partly  filled  with 
water  not  quite  boiling,   into  which  a  quart  of  wood 


SLAUGHTERTXG    AND    CURING  5O9 

ashes  has  l)een  thrown  "to  make  the  liair  sHp,"  scraping 
with  knives  and  hoes,  and  then  hfting  by  main  strength 
tlie  naked,  shppery  hog  to  a  pole  or  some  appHance  tem- 
porarily provided,  from  which  he  can  be  suspended  for 
gutting,  washing  and  cooling  is  still  followed  on  a  large 
majority  of  farms. 

A  barrel  or  cask  is  not  the  most  convenient  vessel  in 
wliich  to  scald  a  hog,  and  any  farmer  who  each  year 
butchers  a  half-dozen  or  more  good-sized  porkers  should 
provide  himself  with  something  different,  and  in  which  it 
is  possible  to  maintain  the  water  at  a  suitable  temper- 
ature. As  to  what  this  temperature  should  be  and  the 
proper  length  of  time  the  hog  should  be  immersed  few 
farmers  apparently  have  definite  ideas,  and  to  ascertain 
what  those  who  slaughter  in  a  wholesale  way  have  found 
to  be  the  right  degree  of  heat  the  author  has  made  in- 
quiry of  some  of  the  leading  packers.  Among  the  re- 
plies Armour  &  Company  of  Chicago  write:  "For  light 
hogs  the  temperature  range  should  be  140  to  145  de- 
grees \\,  and  the  time  of  scalding  from  a  minute  to  a 
minute  and  15  seconds.  For  heavy  hogs  the  temperature 
should  be  150  degrees  and  the  time  from  a  minute  to' a 
minute  and  a  half." 

Morris  &  Company  of  Chicago  say:  "The  temperature 
we  use  for  scalding  is  about  145  to  147  degrees.  We  al- 
low the  hogs  to  remain  in  the  water  from  ij^  to  two 
minutes." 

Swift  &  Company,  Chicago,  write:  "Ordinarily  a  tem- 
perature of  145  degrees  F.  is  the  most  suitable  for  scald- 
ing hogs,  and  three  minutes  the  time  they  should  remain 
in  the  water.     However,  both  the  temperature  and  time 


5rO  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

vary  somewhat  with  the  different  seasons  of  the  year; 
for  instance,  it  takes  a  httle  longer  to  loosen  the  hair  in 
the  fall  than  it  does  in  the  spring." 

Kingan  &  Company  of  Indianapolis  reply:  "Killing 
hogs  at  the  rate  of  400  per  hour,  scalding  tub  tempera- 
ture should  be  about  148  to  150  degrees  F.,  and  the  hog- 
should  be  in  the  water  about  i^^  minutes.  Killing  at  a 
more  rapid  rate  the  temperature  should  be  a  little  higher, 
and  at  a  slower  speed,  slightly  lower." 


A    HEATING    AND    SCALDING    VAT    WITH        SCRAPING 
PLATFORM 

A  very  convenient  and  inexpensive  farm  arrangement 
for  heating  water  and  scalding  hogs  is  a  plank  tub  or  vat 
about  7  feet  in  length,  2>4  feet  wide  at  the  bottom,  2 
feet  deep,  with  the  sides  somewhat  flaring,  and  a  galvan- 
ized iron  bottom,  well  supported  from  below,  set  over  a 
brick  or  stone  foundation  in  which  there  is  a  suitable 
chamber  for  a  fire  to  heat  and  keep  heated  the  water  for 
scalding.  At  its  rear  end  should  be  a  chimney  for  the 
smoke,  and  the  sides  of  the  vat  may  be  banked  up  with 
earth.  The  top  of  the  vat  should  be  about  2>4  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  ground.    On  a  level  with  the  top,  on  one 


SLAUGHTERING    AND    CURING  5 II 

side,  there  should  be  a  strong  platform,  about  6  feet 
wide  and  8  feet  long,  from  which  to  scald  the  hogs,  and 
upon  which  they  are  to  be  scraped  after  scalding.  At 
one  end  of  this,  the  ground  should  be  graded  up  even 
with  the  platform,  or  a  sloping  approach  built,  to  facili- 
tate getting  the  hogs  onto  the  main  platform  after  they 
have  been  killed.  For  convenience  in  lowering  the  hogs 
into  and  lifting  them  out  of  the  water,  two  or  more 
ropes,  8  or  10  feet  long,  should  be  secured  to  the  side  of 
the  platform  next  the  water,  and  resting  on  these,  the 
carcass  can  be  lowered  or  raised  with  comparative  ease 
by  two  or  three  men.  On  the  bottom  of  the  vat  there 
should  be  some  wooden  strips  or  a  slatted  frame  to  pre- 
vent the  hog  from  lying  directly  on  the  bottom,  as  with 
much  fire  below,  the  skin  would  soon  cook  or  scorch. 

The  animal  is  immersed  for  a  few  seconds,  and  then, 
by  means  of  the  ropes,  raised  out  of  the  water,  to  allow 
the  air  to  strike  its  body,  and  then  immersed  again.  When 
the  hair  readily  leaves  the  skin,  especially  on  the  head, 
legs  and  feet,  the  hog  should  be  removed  from  the  water 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  speedily  stripped  of  every  hair. 
\\'hen  this  is  done  the  hind  legs  should  be  freely  cut  into 
below  the  gambrel  joint,  to  reach  both  main  cords  under 
which  the  end  of  the  gambrel  should  be  inserted.  The 
gambrel  should  be  of  strong  wood — hickory  or  oak  is 
best — and  from  24  to  30  inches  in  length,  according  to 
the  size  of  the  hogs,  and  be  slightly  notched  on  the 
upper  side  of  each  end  to  prevent  the  legs  from  slip- 
ping off. 

Posts  or  forks  sliould  be  so  set  that  a  strong  pole 
resting  on  them  will  l)e  in  part  over  the  platform,  about 


.SI2 


SWINE  IN  AMERICA 


6  feet  from  the  ground,  and  on  this  the  hogs  can  be 
hung-,  and  slipped  along  toward  either  end.  out  of  the 
way.  after  they  have  been  thoroughly  scraped  and  rinsed 
down. 

The  butchering  convenience  shown  on  the  left  of  the 
illustration  herewith,  was  described  to  the  Ohio  Farmer 
by  one  of  that  journal's  correspondents,  who  says:  "Its 
main  feature  is  the  swinging  derrick,  such  as  is  used  by 


A    NUMBER    OF    BUTCHERING    CONVENIENCES 


stone  quarries,  bridge  companies,  etc..  for  hoisting  heavy 
loads.  \\>  have  the  hog  pen  on  one  side ;  swing  the  der- 
rick around  to  that  side,  after  killing;  hoist  the  hog  up, 
swing  him  around  to  the  scalding  barrel ;  after  scalding, 
swing  to  scraping  table ;  after  scraping,  swing  him  on 
around  to  the  hanging  pole.  We  have  the  pen,  barrel, 
table  and  hanging  pole  on  a  half  circle,  so  the  derrick 
will   swing  around   just  right   for  each  of  them.     The 


SLAUGHTERING    AND    CURING 


513 


scalding  barrel  is  set  upright.  The  outfit  need  not  cost 
much.  Ours  is  made  with  a  pole  cut  from  the  woods, 
old  hay-fork  pulle3^s  and  cog-wheels  from  an  old  binder. 
A  self-locking  block,  such  as  is  advertised,  would  be 
just  the  thing  instead  of  the  cog  gearing  for  the  hoists. 
The  swing  principle  is  what  makes  it  so  handy.  The 
illustration  on  the  right  shows  a  simple  device  for  lift- 
ing, and  hanging  a  carcass  at  any  desired  height. 

The  contrivance  shown  here  is  a  good  one  for  use  in 
scalding  and  hanging  a  hog  without  any  hard  lifting. 


DEVICE    FOR    EASY    SCALDING    AND    HANGING 


The  upright  is  a  strong  post  7  or  8  feet  high  above  the 
ground,  and  the  sweep  or  arm  is  16  feet  long.  On  the 
short  end  should  be  a  short  chain,  and  attached  to  the 
other  end  is  a  rope  for  pulling  down  on  the  sweep  or  for 
tying  to  a  post  for  holding  the  hog  suspended  at  any  de- 
sired height.  With  the  scalding  barrel,  scraping  plat- 
form and  cooling  rack  in  their  proper  places  the  hog  in 
dressing  is  easily  handled  from  start  to  finish 

A    Kansas  man's   device   for  hanging  a  slaughtered 
hog  after  its  hair  is  removed  will  be  readily  understood 


5^4 


SWINE  Ii\  AMERICA 


from  the  illustration.  It  is  made  of  two  pieces  of  two- 
by-fours,  each  lo  feet  long,  and  one  piece  12  feet  long, 
for  a  brace  to  hold  the  frame  upright.  This  brace  is 
made  longer  than  the  legs,  to  reach  back  out  of  the  way. 
There  is  a  crosspiece  to  hold  the  bottom  of  the  legs  4 
feet  apart.     There  are  two  hooks  3>4  feet  from  the  top 


ARRANGEMENTS    FOR    HANGING    HOGS 


to  hold  the  hog,  without  a  gambrel.  If  gambrels  are 
used  the  frame  will  hold  two  hogs  if  they  are  not  too 
heavy.  To  use  the  frame  lay  it  across  the  scraping  table 
with  the  brace  outstretched.  Hook  the  hog  fast  and 
raise  by  moving  the  brace  forward.  It  raises  easily  be- 
cause the  table  holds  the  weight  of  the  head  and  shoul- 
ders until  the  frame  is  partly  up.  The  frame  may  be 
easily  moved  back  from  the  table  by  lifting  a  leg  at  a 
time.  With  this  frame  one  man  can  hang  a  hog  weigh- 
ing 400  or  500  pounds. 


.SLALGlITElU.NCi    A.\L>    CLKIXG 


515 


Opening"  the  hogs  should  be  done  by  some  one  fa- 
mih"ar  with  such  work,  and  no  directions  here  would  be 
of  practical  value.  After  removing  the  intestines,  the 
mouth  should  be  propped  open  with  something,  and  all 
blood  carefully  rinsed  out  of  the  lower  part  of  the  body 
and  neck.  The  next  point,  and  a  most  important  one. 
is  to  let  the  carcass,  w.dl  si)read  on  the  gambrel,  hang 
until  thoroughly  cooled  in  all  its  parts;  unless  this  is  ob- 
scr\ed.  the  pork  cannot  be  cured  or  preserved  in  good 
condition,  howexer  much  pains  may  be  taken  with  it. 


SIMPLE   DEVICES    FOR    HANGING    HOGS 


CURING    AND    PRESERVING 

For  the  most  perfect  curing-  of  meat  of  any  kind  it  is 
desirable  to  have  it  from  animals  that  before  slaughter 
were  in  a  considerable  deg^ree  matured,  or  had  attained 
their  natural  growth.  After  dressing  the  first  requisite 
is  to  thoroughly  cool  the  carcass,  and  for  this  it  should 
hang  in  a  low  temperature,  for  36  or  more  hours,  but 
on  no  account  should  it  freeze:  freezing  the  outer  sur- 
face surrounds   the   interior  of   the   flesh   with   a   wall, 


510  SWlISli  IX  AMERICA 

through  which  the  animal  heat  still  remaining  in  and 
around  the  bones  cannot  escape,  and  the  result  will  he 
souring  and  speedy  decay  at  the  center  of  hams,  shoul- 
ders, etc.,  that  outwardly  appear  in  good  condition. 

Meat,  and  particularly  pork,  that  has  been  frozen  and 
afterward  thawed  does  not  keep  as  well  as  that  which 
lias  been  simply  chilled.  Pork  intended  for  curing- 
should  never  be  frozen.  It  is  stated  by  the  authorities 
that  frozen  meat  will  spoil  in  sixteen  hours  if  subjected 
to  a  temperature  of  75  degrees.  Meat  hung  up  in  an 
ordinary  air  temperature  until  the  animal  heat  has 
passed  off  keeps  better  than  that  rapidly  chilled  im- 
mediately after  dressing. 

In  the  case  of  pork  intended  for  curing,  it  is  found 
that  a  temperature  which  will  reduce  the  carcass  within  a 
period  of  48  hours  to  from  36  to  39  degrees  at  its  thick- 
est and  most  vulnerable  portion,  viz.,  the  center  of  the 
ham  and  shoulder,  is  the  most  desirable.  At  a  tem- 
perature of  40  degrees  a  percentage  of  taint  is  liable  to 
develop,  and  at  any  point  above  that  temperature,  taintetl 
meat  develops  rapidly. 

Packers  say  that  hogs  will  shcnv  a  temperature  of  106 
degrees  F.  on  the  killing  rail — that  is,  the,  hams  and 
shoulders — and  will  cut  nicely  at  ^^y  degrees  F.  "Joint 
meats  are  all  the  better  for  being  chilled  down  to  just 
above  freezing  before  curing." 

Having  so  large  a  per  cent  of  fat,  side  pork  does  not 
readily  become  over-salt  and  there  is  really  no  danger  of 
injury  to  any  but  the  leaner  portions  of  the  carcass  by 
too  much  salt ;  yet  where  salt  is  dear,  economy  would 
dictate  that  only  so  much  be  used  as  is  actually  necessary 


SLAUGHTERING    AXD    CURING  517 

as  a  preservative.  Salting  with  and  without  brine  are 
botii  popnhir  and  both  are  satisfactory.  It  brine  or 
"pickle"  is  used,  no  danger  is  to  be  apprehended  from 
insects  during  the  pickHng  process;  the  brine  extracts 
tlie  blood  and  other  juices  from  the  meat,  which  rise  to 
the  surface  (more  rapidly  in  warm  weather),  and  there 
decomposing,  are  likely  to  contaminate  the  entire  con- 
tents of  the  cask,  unless  given  occasional  attention.  The 
preventive  of  trouble  in  this  direction  is  to  occasionally 
subject  the  brine  to  boiling;  the  impurities  will  rise  to  the 
top,  and  are  to  be  skimmed  off ;  in  this  way  the  brine  may 
be  kept  pure,  and  its  strength  undiminished,  for  any  de- 
sired length  of  time. 

In  "dry  salting,"  or  salting  in  barrels,  boxes  or  piles 
without  the  addition  of  water  to  form  a  brine,  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  no  chance  be  afforded  for  flies  to 
deposit  eggs,  or  even  to  come  in  contact  with  the  meat. 
If  flies  have  had  access  to  the  pork  it  cannot  then  be 
saved,  unless  at  once  put  into  brine,  or  kept  in  a  tem- 
perature so  low  the  eggs  cannot  hatch,  the  latter  being 
not  often  practicable. 

Pork  is  cut  to  suit  dift'erent  demands  and  the  various 
uses  for  which  it  is  intended,  but  the  aim  should  be,  in 
all  cases,  to  ha\e  it  in  such  form  as  to  pack  snugly,  and 
never  to  pack  it  until  thoroughly  cooled  throughout. 

CURING  HAMS  AND  SHOULDERS 

Fulton,  in  his  "Home  Pork-Making,"*  gives  the  fol- 
lowing directions  for  the  treatment  of  hams  and  shoul- 

*H.iitic  Pi)rk-Making,  by  A.  W.  Fulton,  Orange  Jiuld  Company,  New  York. 
124  pp. 


5l8  SWINE  IN  AxM ERICA 

ders  prior  to  smoking:  "To  each  loo  pounds  of  meat  use 
yYi  pounds  of  fine  salt,  ij/S  pounds  granulated  sugar  and 
four  ounces  saltpeter.  Weigh  the  meat  and  the  in- 
gredients in  the  above  proportions,  rub  the  meat  thor- 
oughly with  tiiis  mixture  and  pack  closely  in  a  tierce, 
h'ill  the  tierce  with  water  and  roll  every  se\-en  days  until 
cured,  which,  in  a  temperature  of  40  to  50  degrees,  would 
require  about  50  days  for  a  medium  ham.  Large  hams 
take  about  10  days  more  for  curing.  When  wanted  for 
smoking,  wash  the  hams  in  water  or  soak  for  12  hours 
Hang  in  the  smokehouse  and  smoke  slowly  48  hours  and 
you  will  have  a  very  good  ham.  While  this  is  not  tlie 
exact  formula  followed  in  big  packing  houses,  it  is  a 
general  ham  cure  that  will  make  a  first-class  ham  in 
every  respect  if  proper  attention  is  given  it. 

"Another  method  of  pickling  preparatory  to  smoking 
includes  the  use  of  molasses.  Though  somewhat  dif- 
ferent from  the  above  formula,  the  careful  following  of 
directions  cannot  fail  to  succeed  admirably.  To  four 
quarts  of  fine  salt  and  two  ounces  of  pulverized  saltpeter, 
add  sufficient  molasses  to  make  a  pasty  mixture.  Two 
pounds  of  brown  sugar  will  do  as  well  as  the  molasses, 
The  hams  having  hung  in  a  dry,  cool  place  for  three  or 
four  days  after  cutting  up,  are  to  be  covered  all  o\er 
with  the  mixture,  more  thickly  on  the  flesh  side,  an  I 
laid  skin  side  down  for  three  or  four  days.  In  the  mean- 
time, make  a  pickle  of  the  following  proportions,  the 
quantities  here  named  being  for  one  hundred  pounds. 
Coarse  salt,  seven  pounds ;  brown  sugar,  five  pounds ; 
saltpeter,  two  ounces  ;  pearlash  or  potash,  one-half  ounce: 
soft  water,   four  gallons.     Heat  gradually  and  as  tlic 


SLAUGHTERING    AND    CURING  519 

skim  rises  remove  it.  Continue  to  do  this  as  long  as  any 
skim  rises,  and  when  it  ceases,  allow  the  pickle  to  cool. 
When  the  hams  have  remained  the  proper  time  immersed 
in  the  mixture,  cover  the  bottom  of  a  clean,  sweet  barrel 
witli  salt  about  half  an  inch  deep.  Pack  in  the  hams  as 
closely  as  possible,  cover  them  with  the  pickle,  and 
place  over  them  a  follower  with  weights  to  keep  them 
down.  Small  hams  of  15  pounds  and  less,  also  shoul- 
ders, should  remain  in  the  pickle  for  five  weeks ;  larger 
ones  will  require  six  to  eight  weeks,  according  to  size. 
Let  them  dry  well  before,  smoking."  In  winter  curing 
boiling  the  brine  is  not  so  essential. 

DRY  SALTING  BACON  AND  SIDES 

"For  hogs  weighing  not  over  125  or  130  pounds  each, 
intended  for  dry  curing,  one  bushel  fine  salt,  two  pounds 
brown  sugar  and  one  pound  saltpeter  will  suffice  for  each 
800  pounds  of  pork ;  but  if  the  meat  is  large  and  thick,  or 
weighs  from  150  to  200  pounds  per  carcass,  from  a  gal- 
lon to  a  peck  more  of  salt  and  a  little  more  of  both  the 
other  articles  should  be  taken.  Neither  the  sugar  nor 
the  saltpeter  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  preservation 
of  the  meat,  and  they  are  often  omitted.  But  both  arc 
preservati\'es ;  the  sugar  improves  the  flavor  of  the  bacon, 
and  the  saltpeter  gives  it  greater  firmness  and  a  finer 
color,  if  used  sparingly.  Bacon  should  not  be  so  sweet 
as  to  suggest  the  'sugar  cure;'  and  saltpeter,  used  too 
freely,  hardens  the  tissues  of  the  meat  and  renders  it 
less  palatable.  The  quantity  of  salt  mentioned  is  enough 
for  the  first  salting.     A  little  more  new  salt  is  added  at 


520  SWINE  IN  AxMERICA 

the  second  salting  and  used  together  with  the  old  salt 
that  has  not  been  absorbed.  If  sugar  and  saltpeter  arc 
used,  first  apply  about  a  teaspoon ful  of  pulverized  salt- 
peter on  the  flesh  side  of  the  hams  and  shoulders,  and 
then,  taking  a  little  sugar  in  the  hand,  apply  it  lightly  to 
the  flesh  surface  of  all  the  pieces.  A  tablespoonful  is 
enough  for  any  one  piece. 

"If  the  meat  at  the  time  of  salting  is  moist  and  yield- 
ing to  the  touch,  rubbing  the  skin  side  with  the  gloved 
hand,  or  the  'sow's  ear,'  as  is  sometimes  insisted  on,  is 
unnecessary ;  the  meat  will  take  salt  readily  enough  with- 
out this  extra  labor.  But  if  the  meat  is  rigid,  and  the 
weather  very  cold,  or  if  the  pieces  are  large  and  thick, 
rubbing  the  skin  side  to  make  it  yielding  and  moist  causes 
the  salt  to  penetrate  to  the  center  of  the  meat  and  bone. 
On  the  flesh  side  it  is  only  necessary  to  sprinkle  the  salt 
over  all  the  surface.  Care  must  be  taken  to  get  some  salt 
into  every  depression  and  into  the  hock  end  of  all  joints. 
An  experienced  meat  Salter  goes  over  the  pieces  with 
great  expedition.  Taking  a  handful  of  the  salt,  he  ap- 
plies it  dexterously  by  a  gliding  motion  of  the  hand  to  all 
the  surface,  and  does  not  forget  the  hock  end  of  the 
bones  where  the  feet  have  been  cut  off.  Only  dry  salt 
is  used  in  this  method  of  curing.  The  meat  is  never  put 
into  brine  or  'pickle,'  nor  is  any  water  added  to  the  salt 
to  render  it  more  moist. 

FOR  BEST   DISTRIBUTION   OP  THE    SALT 

"A  platform  or  bench  of  planks  is  laid  down,  on  which 
the  meat  is  packed  as  it  is  salted.  The  packer  lays  down 
first  a  course  of  middlings  and  then  sprinkles  a  little 


Texas  Razor-IJack  Boar 


Crossbred  Kazor-IJack- 
Berksliire  Pi«' 


Texas  Razor-Back  Sow 


Crossbred  Razor-Back- 
Poland-Cbiiia  Pig 


First    Generation    of    Razor-Back    Pigs    Under    Improved 
Conditions 


RAZOR-BACKS  CSED  IX  CROSSBREEDIXG  EXPERIMENTS 
AT    THE    WISCOXSIX    EXPERIMEXT    STATION 


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H 

SLAUGHTERING  AND  CURING  521 

more  salt  on  all  the  piaces  that  cio  not  appear  to  have 
quite  enough.  Xext  comes  a  layer  of  shoulders  and  then 
another  layer  of  middlings,  until  all  these  pieces  have 
been  laid.  From  time  to  time  a  little  more  salt  is  added, 
as  appears  to  l)e  necessary.  Idie  hams  are  reserved  for 
ihe  top  layer,  the  object  being  to  prevent  them  from  be- 
coming too  salt.  In  a  large  bulk  of  meat  the  brine,  as  it 
settles  down,  lodges  upon  the  lower  pieces,  and  some  of 
them  get  rather  more  than  their  quota  of  salt.  Too 
much  saltiness  spoils  the  hams.  In  fact,  it  spoils  any 
meat  to  have  it  too  salt,  but  it  requires  less  to  spoil  the 
hams,  because,  as  a  rule,  they  are  mostly  lean  meat.  The 
jowls,  heads  and  livers,  on  account  of  the  quantity  of 
blood  about  them,  are  put  in  a  separate  pile,  after  being- 
salted.  The  chines  and  spareribs  are  but  slightly  salted 
and  laid  on  top  of  the  bulk  of  neat  meat.  Close-fitting 
boxes,  which  some  use  to  keep  the  rats  from  meat,  are 
not  the  best;  the  meat  need;,  air. 

"In  ten  days  to  three  weeks,  according  to  weather  and 
size  of  the  meat,  break  bulk  and  resalt,  using  the  old 
salt  again,  with  just  a  little  new  salt  added.  In  four  to 
six  days  more,  or  sooner,  if  need  be,  break  up  and  wash 
the  meat  nicely,  preparatory  to  smoking  it.  Some 
farmers  do  not  wash  the  salt  off,  l)ut  the  meat  takes 
smoke  better  and  looks  nicer  if  washed." 

Another  method  having  the  highest  recommendations 
is  to  lea\-e  the  meat  in  a  cool,  dry  place  for  at  least  36 
hours  after  being  cut  up  in  order  that  the  animal  heat 
may  escape.  It  should  not  be  permitted  to  free;^e  under 
any  circumstances.  The  recipe  for  curing  material  for 
each  100  pounds  of  meat  is  to  mix  together  thoroughly 


522  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

iy2  pounds  white  granulated  sugar,  lYi  ounces  finely 
ground  black  pepper,  one-half  ounce  of  finely  pulverized 
saltpeter  and  12  pounds  of  the  best  salt.  Rub  each 
piece  of  meat  thoroughly  with  the  mixture  in  the  bare 
liand.  afterward  laying  meat  side  down.  The  skin  side 
of  the  meat  will  need  only  the  one  (first)  treatment. 
11ie  meat  should  be  examined  a])Out  once  a  week  for 
four  or  five  weeks  to  see  that  any  that  has  absorbed  the 
mixture  is  given  a  further  thorough  rubbing  v^nth  it. 
taking  pains  to  see  that  the  parts  around  the  bone  are 
thoroughly  treated.  After  about  five  weeks  the  meat 
can  be  smoked,  hickory  wood  or  corncobs  being  excel- 
lent for  this  purpose.  From  eight  to  ten  days  of  smok- 
ing is  sufficient,  but  some  authorities  claim  that  smoking 
for  two  days  and  then  discontinuing  the  smoke  for 
two  or  three  days  is  better  than  continuous  smoking. 
When  properly  smoked  the  meat  will  have  a  dark  or  to- 
bacco Ijrown  color.  After  the  smoking  is  completed  the 
meat  can  be  wrapped  in  paper  and  stored  in  a  cool,  dry 
place  away  from  flies.  The  more  thoroughly  it  is 
wrapped  the  more  secure  it  is  likely  to  be  against  the 
attacks  of  insects. 

The  preservative  principle  of  smoke  is  known  as 
creosote.  If  the  smoking  process  is  too  much  hurried, 
the  creosote  will  not  have  time  to  penetrate  the  entire 
substance  of  the  meat,  but  ten  days'  steady  smoking  is.  in 
all  cases,  sufficient,  unless  the  pieces  are  unusually  large 
and  very  thick.  Smoked  meats  may  be  left  in  the  smoke- 
house for  some  time  during  moderate  weather.  The 
house  should  be  kept  perfectly  dark  and  well  enough 
ventilated  to  prevent  dampness.     A  dry,  cool  cellar  or 


SLAUGHTERING    AND    CURING  523 

an  attic  with  free  circulation  will  be  a  satisfactory  place 
for  smoked  meats  at  all  seasons,  if  it  is  kept  dark  and 
flies  are  excluded.  If  to  be  held  but  a  short  time,  hams 
and  bacon  will  need  only  to  be  hung  separately  without 
covering.  For  longer  keeping,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
wrap  them  first  in  paper,  and  then  in  burlap,  canvas,  or 
muslin,  when  they  may  be  buried  in  grain,  bran  or 
ashes,  or  in  some  other  suitable  way  kept  at  a  uniform 
temperature  and  protected  from  insects.  Ground  pepper 
rubbed  into  each  piece  before  wrapping  will  be  distaste- 
ful to  the  insects.  For  absolute  safe-keeping  for  an 
indefinite  period  of  time  it  is  essential  that  the  meat  be 
thoroughly  cured. 

PORK  FOR  THE   SOUTH 

"This  requires  a  little  (lilTercnt  treatment."  says  Ful- 
ton's "Home  Pork-Making."  "It  is  dry-salted  and 
smoked.  The  sides,  hams  and  shoulders  are  laid  on  a 
table  and  rubbed  thoroughly  with  salt  and  saltpeter  (one 
ounce  to  five  pounds  of  salt),  clear  saltpeter  being  rubbed 
in  around  the  ends  of  the  bones.  The  pieces  are  laid  up, 
with  salt  between,  and  allowed  to  lie.  The  rubbing  is  re- 
l)eated  at  intervals  of  a  week  until  the  meat  is  thoroughly 
salted  through,  and  it  is  then  smoked.  It  must  afterward 
be  left  in  the  smokehouse,  canvased  or  buried  in  a  box 
of  ashes,  to  protect  it  from  the  flies." 

Dry  salt  pork  for  southern  use  in  winter  needs  to  be 
cured  in  salt  for  30  days,  but  for  summer  use  it  should 
have  from  50  to  60  days'  curing. 


524  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

NET  PERCENTAGE    THAT   HOGS   WILL  DRESS 

A  question  that  frequently  confronts  farmers  is  that 
of  dressing  the  hogs  at  home  and  selhng-  the  carcasses, 
or  selHng  ahve.  Some  townspeople  are  glad  to  buy 
dressed  hogs  for  private  use  and  will  pay  a  good  price 
for  a  carcass  that  has  been  nicely  dressed.  Whether 
it  will  pay  to  dress  and  sell  thus  or  sell  to  the  stock 
buyer  is  a  question. 

Where  one  has  but  a  few  hogs  it  is  often  very  profitable 
to  dispose  of  them  dressed.  One  should,  of  course,  al- 
low for  labor  required  in  slaughtering,  fuel  used  in  heat- 
ing water,  and  other  miscellaneous  expenses.  Then  by 
knowing  how  many  pounds  of  pork  every  100  pounds  of 
live  hog  will  make,  the  price  that  he  must  have  for  the 
carcass  to  get  the  same  as  for  the  live  animal  can  be 
determined. 

Several  factors  influence  the  yield  by  a  hog.  Con- 
formation, waste,  degrees  of  fatness  and  development — 
all  play  important  parts.  Thick,  deep-bodied  hogs  are 
always  better  dressers  than  those  that  are  narrow  and 
shallow.  By  adding  length  of  body  something  is  also 
added  to  the  yield.  Animals  that  are  big  bellied  are  al- 
ways objectionable,  because  not  only  is  the  offal  or  waste 
great,  but  the  side  is  unshapely.  The  paunch  alone 
sometimes  makes  a  difference  of  one  or  more  per  cent  in 
the  dressing,  and,  with  contents  included,  this  difference 
sometimes  becomes  as  great  as  five  per  cent. 

An  intelligent  writer  says :  "Degree  of  fatness  and 
development  probably  influence  the  yield  more  than  any 
otiier  factors.     Because  of  this,  hogs  that  are  well  de- 


SLAUGHTERING   AND   CURING  525 

veloped  in  all  parts  and  of  good  size,  in  addition  to 
being-  extremely  fat,  are  always  the  best  dressers.  The 
development  of  muscle  means  enlargement  of  the  cells 
that  make  it,  and  fattening  means  the  depositing  of  fat 
about  muscle  fibers  and  around  the  muscles  of  the  body. 
The  extreme  development  of  muscle  and  fat  then  must 
give  the  extreme  weight  that  can  be  secured  from  the 
carcass. 

"The  viscera  does  not  increase  in  weight  propor- 
tionately as  the  development  takes  place,  therefore  there 
is  a  greater  yield  of  edible  meat.  Taking  ordinary  hogs 
as  they  run  as  regards  fatness  and  development  after 
being  off  feed  for  only  12  hours,  the  writer  has  found 
that  the  yields  are  about  as  follows  for  various  weights : 

Per  Cent 
Pounds         Dressed 
Weight  of  hog    lOO  72 

"    "     150  73 

"    "     200  75 

"        "    "     250  77 

"    "     300  79 

"        "    "      350-500         80-87 

"It  will  be  noticed  that  the  small,  immature,  unfinished 
hog  dresses  the  least,  and  the  large,  mature  and  finished 
hog  dresses  out  the  most  weight  of  carcass.  For  every 
100  pounds  additional  to  live  weight  the  hog  increases 
in  yield  approximately  four  per  cent." 


CHAPTER  XXII 

Razor-Backs  Not  "Cholera-Proof" 
or  Profitable 

There  is  a  belief,  perhaps  justifiable,  held  by  niimerons 
l)reeders  that  many  of  the  more  highly  bred  swine  are 
over-refined,  and  that  the  system  of  mating  and  rearing 
by  which  they  were  produced  has  made  them  delicate, 
and  more  susceptible  to  disease,  while  lessening  their 
feeding  qualities  and  growthiness.  Those  who  have  had 
this  belief  have  in  many  instances  further  believed  that 
the  best  available  corrective  of  the  defect  and  a  restorer 
of  the  desired  robust  hardiness  would  l)e  an  infusion  of 
blood  from  the  supposedly  hardier  and  more  vigorous 
wild  or  half-wild  hogs  quite  common  in  some  parts  of 
the  South  and  Southwest,  and  known  as  Razor-Backs, 
which  unfounded  tradition  says  are  "cholera-proof." 

The  Wisconsin  experiment  station  made  an  attempt 
to  discover  whether  there  were  good  grounds  for  the 
belief  in  the  extra  hardiness  or  feeding  qualities  of  the 
wild  hogs,  and  secured  a  stock  of  them  from  Texas, 
which  were  used  especially  in  crossing  with  improved 
breeds,  the  story  of  which  is  told  in  Annual  Reports  19 
and  20  of  the  ^\'isconsin  station. 

A  striking  incident  of  the  experiments,  not  contem- 
plated in  the  beginning,  was  that  from  an  attack  of 
"cholera"  the  Razor-Back  pigs  were  the  first  to  die,  thus 


RAZOR-BACKS  NOT  CHOLERA-PROOF  OR  PROFITABLE  527 

forcibly  suggesting  that  the  alleged  hardiness  of  the  wild 
hog,  SO  often  claimed  as  disease-proof,  exists 'mainly  in 
the  imagination.  Referring  to  this  Prof.  W.  L.  Carlyle, 
who  had  the  experiments  in  charge,  says:  "The  epi- 
demic took  about  50  per  cent  of  our  pure-bred  hogs  and 
about  92  per  cent  of  the  cross-bred  Razor-Backs.  Why 
the  fatality  was  greater  with  the  cross-bred  animals  than 
with  the  others  I  do  not  know,  unless  it  was  that  their 
ancestors  had  nev^er  been  afflicted  to  any  extent  with 
this  disease,  and  they  were,  therefore,  more  susceptible 
to  its  inroads."  The  experiments  at  the  Wisconsin  sta- 
tion were  undertaken,  at  least  in  part,  to  determine  pri- 
marily whether  pure  Razor-Back  hogs  would  consume  as 
much  food  of  a  similar  kind  and  make  from  it  as  great 
a  live  weight  gain  as  pigs  of  crossed  Razor-Back  or  im- 
proved breeding,  thus  determining  the  truth  as  to  the  im- 
])ression  among  some  stockmen  that  scrub  stock  will  make 
as  good  gains  in  feeding  as  animals  better  bred.  Twelve 
shotes  were  selected ;  six  were  Razor-Backs,  and  the  other 
six  were  the  get  of  a  Razor-Back  boar  out  of  Berkshire 
and  Poland-China  sows.  Both  lots  were  fed  twice  daily 
all  they  would  eat  of  a  mixture  in  equal  parts  of  ground 
corn,  ground  rye  and  shorts,  for  four  weeks,  and  at  the 
end  of  that  time  the  feed  was  continued  seven  weeks 
longer,  but  with  the  addition  of  1.4  parts  of  milk  to  one 
part  of  grain.  The  table  on  the  next  page  shows  the 
initial  weights,  feeding,  and  weekly  gains  of  the  animals. 
It  was  found  that  the  cross-bred  pigs  ate  considerably 
greater  quantities  of  grain  than  the  Razor-Backs,  and 
made  greater  gains  in  proportion  to  the  feed  consumed. 


528 


SWINE  IN  AMERICA 


h 

j3 

5^ 

1st  generation. 

S 

2d  generation. 

"o^ 

.s 

d 

c^ 

•oS 

^ 

m^ 

'i ; 

E 

Number  of  pigs. 

71 

72 

7-1 

3  to 

61 

62 

64 

n 

.'. 

H& 

H?5 

HM 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Initial  weights.  . 

99 

lis 

141 

358 

149 

175 

162 

486 

844 

Gain,     1st  week. 

4 

-3 

-4 

-3 

3 

5 

11 

8 

140.1 

2d        "    . 

4 

3 

-1 

6 

8 

7 

22 

28 

133.1 

"        3d        "    , 

;< 

4 

•2 

9 

4' 

_1 

3 

6 

15 

126 

"        4th      ■'    . 

7 

4 

19 

S 

3 

8 

27 

138 

Sth      "    . 

1 1 

13 

K 

32 

28 

22 

8 

58 

90 

163 

240 

6th      "    . 

7 

5 

6 

18 

3 

12 

24 

42 

177 

352 

7th      "    . 

1(1 

10 

16 

36 

—3 

20 

17 

S3 

210 

395 

'■        Sth      "    . 

« 

10 

2 

20 

18 

29 

1 

48 

68 

210 

420 

9th      "    . 

1 

1 

6 

8 

2 

13 

19 

27 

210 

420 

"      10th      "    . 

1 1 

11 

16 

38 

9 

14 

28 

66 

217.5 

440 

"      11th      "    . 

8 

5 

13 

12 

12 

1 

25 

38 

210 

390 

Total  gain... 

74 

63 

59 

196 

92 

87 

87 

266 

462 

1934.5 

2657 

Final  weight 

173 

181 

700 

554 

|241 

262 

249 

752 

1306 

The  gains  made  by  the  Razor-Backs  were  extremely  vari- 
able, and  a  satisfactory  gain  by  an  individual  in  one  week 
would  be  offset  by  no  gain  in  the  preceding  and  succeed- 
ing weeks.  This  was  probably  due  to  the  intermittent 
opportunities  offered  to  the  hogs  in  the  wild  state  for 
obtaining  their  food,  as  the  Razor-Backs  would  gorge 
themselves  and  then  eat  sparingly  for  some  time,  when 
thev  would  again  devour  all  tliey  could  contain.  Tlie 
experiment  showed  that  it  cost  one-half  cent  per  pound 
more  to  produce  gain  with  Razor-Backs  than  with  cross- 
breds.  The  Razor-Backs  were  not  able  to  thrive  on 
corn  or  other  concentrated  rations  and  required  con- 
siderably more  bulky  food  and  pasturage. 

In  another  experiment  an  interesting  comparison  was 
made  between  Razor-Backs  and  Razor-Back-cross-breds 


RAZOR-BACKS  NOT  CHOLERA-l'ROOF  OR  I'ROFITABLE    •)2[) 


witli  pure-breds.  The  Razor-Backs  ate  a  smaller  amount 
of  feed  than  any  other  type,  and  made  the  smallest  gain. 
The  table  below  shows  initial  weights,  weekly  gain  and 
feed,  with  total  weights,  gain  and  feed  eaten  by  the 
cross-bred  Razor-ljack-Poland-China  and  Razor-Back- 
Berkshire  pigs : 


Razor-baek 

X) 

Razor-back 

1 

Poland-Chinas 

Berkshires. 

°   V 

c 

c 

■o  S 

^ 

?n   . 

i- 

III 

1 

Number  of  piss.. 

83 

85 

89 

3:1 

0   lU 

97 

101 

112 

II 

25 

0  o 

HS 

H  S 

Hrti 

Hi 

tfl 

Lbs. 

T,bs. 

Lbs. 

T,hs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Tn 

tial  weights.  . 

156 

156 

162 

474 

153 

151 

135 

439 

913 

Ga 

in,     1st  week. 

4 

3 

7 

14 

1 

0 

3 

4 

18 

140 

'        2d        "    . 

5 

5 

6 

16 

k; 

4 

8 

22 

38 

154 

*        3d        "    . 

13 

5 

10 

28 

7 

IC 

7 

24 

52 

193.5 

■        4th      "    . 

7 

13 

S 

28 

13 

7 

11 

31 

59 

213 

Sth      "    . 

15 

16 

17 

48 

14 

20 

15 

49 

97 

247.5 

348 

'         6th      "    . 

1 1 

22 

14 

47 

21 

14 

16 

51 

98 

259.5 

5?4 

7th      •■    . 

10 

12 

9 

31 

15 

3 

9 

27 

58 

273 

560 

Sth      "    . 

2 

17 

13 

32 

19 

13 

43 

75 

273 

560 

9th      "    . 

10 

—2 

11 

19 

8 

3 

11 

22 

41 

273 

560 

'      10th      "    . 

IS 

25 

13 

53 

19 

1 1 

12 

42 

95 

292.5 

61."; 

*     nth    •■  . 

Total  gain... 
Final  weight 

4 

12 

14 

30 

12 

16 

15 

43 

73 

269 

572 

96 

128 

122 

346 

131 

107 

120 

358 

704 

2588.0 

3736 

252 

?84 

?84 

820 

284 

258 

255 

'" 

1617 

Set  forth  in  another  way,  some  of  the  results  of  these 
experiments  are  shown  thus : 


Cross- 
bred. 

Raz.)r- 
baek. 

Pounds 

5.56 

12.7 

366.0 

530.0 

1.52 

566.0 

331.0 

6.26 

Pounds 

Avcna.fje  amount  of  grain  for  100  pounds  of  gain 

420.0 
565  0 

1   02 

Average  amnunt  ^if  grain  ff)r  100  pounds  gain  the  first  4  weeks.  . 
Average  amount  of  grain  for  100  pounds  gain  the  last  7  weeks. 

624.0 

364.0 

9   78 

530  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

The  experiments  were  interrupted  by  an  outbreak  of 
"cholera."  or  the  investigations  would  have  been  much 
further  extended.  The  report,  in  commenting-  upon  re- 
suhs  arrived  at,  says :  "The  experiment  resuked  in  show- 
ing that  tlie  cross-bred  pigs  made  greater  gains  and  con- 
sumed more  feed,  but  required  less  grain  per  loo  pounds 
gain.  The  cross-breds  made  a  total  gain  of  704  pounds 
and  the  Razor-Backs  a  gain  of  462  pounds,  and  a  daily 
gain  of  1.52  pounds  and  1.02  pounds  respectively.  The 
second  generation  of  Razor-Backs  made  a  total  gain  of 
70  pounds  over  the  representatives  of  the  first  genera- 
tion. This  shows  very  clearly  what  the  change  of  en- 
vironment did  for  the  second  generation ;  their  appear- 
ance also  indicated  that  they  were  capable  of  consuming 
more  food  and  putting  on  greater  gains  than  the  first 
generation.  The  Razor-Backs  made  very  irregular 
gains,  increasing  considerably  in  one  week  and  not  any 
the  next.  This  was  due  to  the  fact  that  their  appetites 
were  variable  and  they  would  overeat  occasionally.  This 
may  be  attributed  to  inherited  peculiarity,  due  to  the 
irregular  food  supply  of  their  ancestors.  Incidentally, 
the  value  of  skimmed  milk  when  fed  with  a  ration,  such 
as  was  given  to  these  pigs,  was  worked  out.  It  was 
found  that  100  pounds  was  worth  the  equivalent  of  6.26 
pounds  of  grain  in  the  case  of  the  cross-bred  pigs,  and 
9.78  pounds  of  grain  for  the  Razor-Backs.  The  reason 
for  this  great  difference  in  the  value  of  skimmed  milk 
for  these  two  lots  was  thought  to  be  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  Razor-Backs  have  not  been  found  to  thrive  best 
on  a  heavy  grain  ration.  It  may  be  that  the  pigs  of  the 
first  generation  made  as  good  gains  for  the  food  con- 


RAZOR-BACKS  NOT  CHOLERA-PROOF   OR  PROFITABLE  53 1 

sumed  as  those  of  the  second  generation,  yet  the  data 
presented  clearly  brings  out  the  fact  that  they  fell  far 
behind  in  rate  of  gain,  and  we  may  safely  assume  from 
then-  appearances  that  they  were  not  nearly  equal  to  the 
pigs  of  the  second  generation,  in  ability  either  to  con- 
sume large  quantities  of  food  or  to  assimilate  and  store 
the  food  nutriments  in  their  body  tissues." 

There  should  be  no  hesitation  about  recognizing  the 
qualities  obtained  through  selection  and  breeding.  In- 
judicious work  in  this  regard  may,  however,  develop 
bad  traits  as  well  as  good  ones,  but  the  good  breeder 
will  take  care  to  eliminate  these.  More  is  to  be  lost 
than  gained  by  introducing  strains  of  wild  or  Razor- 
Back  blood.  The  Razor-Back  is  at  variance  with  any 
desirable  uniformity,  and  this  applies  to  both  fattening 
qualities  and  form.  In  any  case,  where  an  attempt  has 
been  made  to  introduce  crosses  of  Razor-Back  or  any 
other  miscellaneous  kind  of  swine,  the  results  have  been 
in  the  end  unsatisfactory. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

The  Most  Common  Diseases  of  Swine 

THIS  NOT  A  VETERINARY  WORK 

This  book  is  not  that  of  a  veterinary  surgeon,  and  no 
one  lacking  the  training  of  a  veterinarian,  or  its  equiva- 
lent in  practical  experience,  should  presume  to  lay  down 
the  law  of  diseases  which  afflict  swine.  There  are 
times,  however,  when  ready  reference  to  the  most  gen- 
erally approved  remedies  or  treatments  becomes  essential 
to  the  swine  husbandman,  and  to  meet  such  situations 
this  chapter  has  been  prepared,  by  assembling  here  the 
advice  and  suggestions  as  to  prevention  and  treatment 
of  the  more  common  ailments  of  swine  by  men  esteemed 
highly  competent  to  deal  with  the  respective  subjects. 

The  best  and  surest  "cure"  for  any  disease  is  undoubt- 
edly prevention,  but  as  any  breeder  is  aware,  there  are 
frequently  occasions  when  such  a  suggestion  is  little  more 
than  an  aggravation.  When  disease  attacks  his  herd 
the  owner  desires  information  which  points  to  the  best 
possible  immediate  relief,  and  the  problem  then  con- 
fronting him  is  not  one  of  prevention.  Nevertheless,  as 
one  of  the  men  quoted  in  this  chapter  aptly  suggests,  the 
time  to  look  out  for  a  disease  is  six  months  or  a  year  be- 
fore it  is  expected.  It  should  not  require  special  medi- 
cal training  or  technical  knowledge  on  the  breeder's  part 
to  realize  that  clean,  dry  quarters,  a  supply  of  whole- 
some water  and  a  reasonable  use  of  disinfectants  will  go 


THE    MOST    COMMON    DISEASES    OF    SWINE  533 

far  toward  keeping  away  diseases  which  would  thrive 
where  filth,  foul  water  and  lack  of  care  were  present. 

The  greatest  anno3^ance  and  losses  by  disease  with 
wiiich  the  hog  raiser  contends  comes  from  so-called 
"cholera,"  swine  plague,  and  from  tuberculosis.  Dr. 
J.  R.  Alohler  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture has  made  the  statement  that  the  loss  from  tuber- 
culosis is  greater  than  from  any  other  disease,  and  this 
condition  has  come  about  in  comparatively  recent  years. 
Ilie  last  word  is  far  from  being  said  regarding  what 
should  or  may  be  done  to  stamp  out  these  diseases,  and 
the  best  that  can  be  recorded  now  is  that  the  government 
authorities,  as  well  as  other  experimentalists  in  this 
country  and  abroad,  are  believed  to  be  making  progress 
toward  a  definite  procedure  in  the  work  of  eradicating 
ihe  scourges  so  much  to  be  dreaded.  In  fact,  authorities 
arc  confident  that  prevention  of  cholera  by  vaccination, 
])n)perly  done  by  an  expert,  is  unquestionably  practicable. 

In  summing  up  the  tremendous  losses  by  diseases.  Dr. 
D.  E.  Salmon,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry, 
once  said :  "When  the  investigations  of  swine  diseases 
were  commenced  by  the  government  in  1878,  the  annual 
losses  were  estimated  at  from  $20,000,000  to  $30,- 
000.000.  They  have  gone  on  increasing  wnth  the  growth 
of  the  swine  industry,  until  it  appears  from  statistics  (in 
1898)  that  have  been  gathered  in  some  states,  they  some- 
times reach  $60,000,000  or  $70,000,000  a  year — possibly 
more  if  the  ravages  in  the  sections  heard  from  are 
e(|uale(I  in  all  of  the  hog-raising  states. 

"These  l<isses  and  their  effects  upon  the  countrv  arc 
not  appreciated  fully  by  many  of  the  people,  and  it  is 


534  SWINE  Ii\  AMERICA 

common  to  hear  the  remark,  even  among  farmers,  that 
were  it  not  for  cholera  hogs  would  be  so  numerous  and 
so  cheap  that  they  would  be  worth  nothing.  This  is  a 
superficial  and  incorrect  opinion.  If  there  were  no 
cholera  hogs  could  be  jDroduced  cheaper  than  at  present, 
and  the  number  marketed  would  be  increased  until  the 
price  was  forced  down  to  the  limit  of  profitable  produc- 
tion. But  on  the  other  hand,  when  the  limit  of  profit 
was  reached,  the  number  grown  would  be  reduced,  just 
as  happens  at  present,  and  the  average  returns  from  the 
grain  fed  would  not  vary  greatly  from  what  are  now 
received. 

"With  no  contagious  diseases,  however,  the  hog  raiser 
would  be  doing  a  much  safer  business  than  at  present ; 
he  would  not  be  subject  to  such  disastrous  periodical 
losses,  and  he  could  consequently  sell  his  animals  lower 
and  still  make  more  money  than  at  present.  Lowering 
the  price  of  pork  would  be  a  great  boon  to  thousands  of 
consumers  and  would  greatl}^  stimulate  our  export  trade. 
Above  all,  perhaps,  would  be  the  saving  and  adding  to 
the  w^ealtii  of  the  country  of  the  fifty,  sixty  or  seventy 
millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  property  now  annihilated 
every  year. 

"The  hog  disease  question  is,  therefore,  one  worthy  of 
the  most  careful  and  persistent  study,  and  while  primarily 
an  agricultural  problem,  in  its  broader  sense  it  is  one 
which  affects  many  industries  and  even  has  a  material 
effect  upon  the  nation." 

IMPORTANCE  OF  PREA^NTION 

Dr.  A.  S.  Alexander  says :  "There  are  several  fea- 
sible plans  of  fighting  disease  among  hogs,  and  these 


THE    MOST    COMMON     DISEASES    OF    SWINE  535 

should  be  followed  wdierever  swine  are  kept.  In  tl'.e 
first  place,  every  precaution  should  be  taken  to  raise  hogs 
of  strong  vitality,  and  this  is  to  be  accomplished  by  using 
robust  breeding  stock,  not  too  closely  related,  Ijut 
changed  often  enough  to  prevent  the  weaknesses  sure  to 
result  from  consanguineous  breeding.  Next,  the  hogs 
at  all  stages  of  life  should  be  fed  in  such  a  way  as  to  in- 
duce full  exercise  of  the  excretory  organs,  and  inciden- 
tally or  primarily  of  the  respiratory  organs,  that  the 
blood  circulation  may  be  active  and  the  blood  pure. 
The  surroundings  of  hogs  are  to  be  kept  as  clean  and 
free  from  germs  as  possible;  the  food  and  drinking  water 
must  be  protected  against  germ  contamination ;  worms 
are  to  be  prevented  or  destroyed ;  indigestion  is  to  be 
avoided  so  far  as  possible,  and  all  known  sources  of  the 
specific  germs  of  cholera,  swine  plague,  etc.,  are  to  be 
excluded  from  the  premises. 

"Medicine  is  an  afterthought  and  used  mostly  when 
trouble  has  been  observed.  It  seldom  is  effective  where 
actual  disease  is  absent,  and  if  used  strongly  as  a  pre- 
ventive, is  apt  to  cause  conditions  conducive  to  disease. 
For  these  reasons,  the  less  medicine  hogs  are  required 
to  take,  the  better  will  it  be  for  them,  provided  they  arc 
properly  fed  and  cared  for.  disinfectants  and  whitewash 
frequently  and  freely  used  about  the  pens,  the  drink- 
ing water  is  pure,  the  food  suitable,  well-balanced  and 
free  from  germ  contamination  or  conditions  likely  to 
cause  derangement  of  the  digestive  organs.  It  is  right 
and  beneficial,  however,  to  mix  a  disinfectant  in  the 
slop  now  and  then  as  a  preventive,  and  hogs  have  been 
found  to  take  readily  to  slop  impregnated  wdth  coal  tar 


536  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

disinfectant  at  the  rate  of  from  a  pint  to  a  quart  per  bar- 
rel. There  can  be  no  question  that  such  a  use  of  disin- 
fectant is  useful  in  preventing  or  destroying  worms  and 
germs  in  the  intestinal  tract,  and  so  warding  off  cholera 
and  other  enteric  diseases.  It  also  is  legitimate  to  use 
other  simple  correctives  with  the  hope  of  preventing  in- 
digestion, and  these  may  include  salt,  charcoal,  wood 
ashes,  stone  coal,  epsom  salts,  glauber  salts  and  lime 
water.  Strong  irritating  medicines  should  be  avoided 
and  no  medicine  the  exact  composition  of  which  is  un- 
known should  be  used.  One  cannot  afford  to  trust  to 
the  other  fellow^'s  intelligence  or  integrity  when  it  comes 
to  treating  hogs  for  disease  or  attempting  to  prevent  its 
ravages.  For  the  latter  reason,  and  the  fear  of  contamina- 
tion, it  is  a  wise  policy  to  keep  the  hog-cholera-patent- 
dope  peddler  off  the  place  by  any  means  necessary." 

HOG  CHOLERA  AND  SWINE  PLAGUE 

The  latest  and  perhaps  the  most  informing  presenta- 
tion of  the  subject  of  hog  cholera,  and  incidentally  swine 
plague,  is  that  by  Dr.  M.  Dorset,  of  the  Bureau  of  Ani- 
mal Industry,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
in  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  379,  issued  November  ly,  1909, 
from  which  the  following  is  condensed.  This  bulletin 
"was  prepared  especially  for  the  use  of  the  practical 
farmer  in  order  that  he  may  be  enabled  to  recognize  the 
disease  and  to  deal  with  it  effectively"  : 

"Hog  cholera  is  an  acute  febrile  disease  w^hich,  so  far 
as  is  known,  affects  only  hogs,  and  wdiich  is  character- 
ized by  extreme  contagiousness  and  a  very  high  death 
rate.     It  is  usual  to  speak  of  two  forms  of  this  disease. 


THE  MOST  COMMON  DISEASES  OF  SWINE  53/ 

One  is  called  the  acute  and  the  other  the  chronic  form. 
This  is  because  of  the  fact  that  in  some  cases  the  dis- 
ease is  sudden  in  its  onset  and  rapid  in  its  course, 
\vhereas  in  others,  the  affected  hogs  linger  for  weeks  or 
months  before  death  or  recovery.  Notwithstanding  the 
dissimilarity  in  the  symptoms  and  lesions  observed  in 
these  two  types,  the  causative  agent  is  the  same  in  Ijoth, 
the  difference  in  the  manifestations  of  the  disease  being 
no  doubt  due  to  a  variation  in  the  virulence  of  the  germs 
which  cause  the  disease,  and  possibly  to  some  extent 
also  to  a  variation  in  the  resisting  power  of  hogs.  Wliile 
outbreaks  may  occur  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  the  great 
majority  take  place  during  the  late  summer  and  fall. 
The  mortality  is  as  high  as  loo  per  cent  in  some  herds, 
while  the  average  is  probably  from  70  to  80  per  cent, 
and  many  of  the  hogs  which  survive  are  comparatively 
worthless,  owing  to  their  being  weakened  and  stunted  in 
gruwth. 

THE   GERM  WHICH   CAUSES   CHOLERA 

"The  germ  or  microbe  which  causes  cholera  is  present 
in  the  blood  of  sick  liogs,  and  also  in  the  excretions 
from  such  hogs,  particularly  in  the  urine.  It  has  Ijeen 
shown  that  the  disease  can  be  prcjduced  almost  without 
fail  l)y  inoculating  well  hogs  with  the  blood  or  urine 
from  sick  hogs.  The  germ  whicii  is  in  this  blood  and 
lu-ine  is  so  small,  or  else  of  such  structure,  that  it  can 
not  be  seen  with  the  strongest  microscopes. 

"While  the  specific  cause  of  cholera  is  the  minute  mi- 
cro-organism or  germ  just  referred  to,  there  are  many 
factors  which   may   render  a  herd  more  susceptible  to 


538  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

the  disease.  Anything  which  tends  to  lower  the  health 
of  the  animals  may  be  regarded  as  a  predisposing  cause. 
Among  such  predisposing  factors  are  improper  feeding, 
an  insanitary  condition  of  the  hog  lots,  damp  or  cold 
sleeping  places,  and  dirty  drinking  and  feeding  troughs. 
Insanitary  surroundings  and  poor  feed  can  not  in  them- 
selves produce  cholera,  but  they  lower  the  vitality  of 
hogs  to  such  an  extent  that  they  become  comparatively 
easy  victims  of  any  disease-producing  germs  to  which 
they  are  exposed. 

WAYS  IN  WHICH  THE  CHOLERA  GERMS  REACH  A  HERD 

"Although  the  conditions  just  mentioned  undoubtedly 
exert  considerable  influence  upon  the  relative  resisting 
powers  of  hogs  to  cholera,  the  disease  can  be  started  in 
a  herd  only  by  introducing  the  germ  which  causes  it. 
This  germ  is  always  present  in  the  bodies  of  sick  hogs, 
and  is  thrown  off  from  them  in  large  numbers  in  the 
feces  and  urine,  thus  contaminating  the  yards  or  pens 
in  which  sick  hogs  are  kept.  The  most  dangerous  factor 
in  spreading  cholera  is,  therefore,  the  sick  hog;  but  any 
agency  which  might  serve  to  carry  a  particle  of  dirt 
from  infected  yards  may  be  the  means  of  starting  an 
outbreak. 

"Sick  hogs  may  get  onto  a  farm  (i)  by  escaping 
from  a  neighboring  herd,  (2)  by  the  purchase  of  new 
stock  which  may  show  no  symptoms  of  sickness  until 
some  days  after  purchase,  (3)  by  returning  show  hogs 
to  the  herd  after  visits  to  fairs  or  stock  shows,  (4)  by 
purchase  of  hogs  which  have  apparently  recovered  from 
cholera.     The  risk  incurred  by  purchase  of  new  hogs  or 


THE  MOST  COMMON  DISEASES  OF  SWINE  539 

the  return  of  hogs  which  have  been  shown  at  fairs  is 
chiefly  due  to  the  fact  that  such  hogs  are  generally 
transported  by  rail,  unloaded  in  public  stock  yards,  or 
driven  along  public  roads.  It  is  well  known  that  sick 
liogs  are  frequently  shipped  by  rail,  and  the  roads  over 
which  they  are  driven,  the  stock  yards,  and  the  railroad 
cars  thus  become  contaminated  with  the  germs.  The 
only  safe  plan  is  to  place  new  arrivals  in  lots  entirely 
separated  from  those  occupied  by  the  main  herd,  and  to 
keep  them  isolated  until  all  danger  of  their  developing 
hog  cholera  has  passed. 

"Aside  from  the  danger  of  introducing  infection 
through  the  hogs  themselves,  the  germ  may  be  trans- 
ported in  a  minute  particle  of  dirt  on  the  feet  of  attend- 
ants or  neighbors  who  have  previously  visited  farms 
where  cholera  exists.  It  may  also  be  carried  in  this  way 
by  dogs,  and  by  crows  and  other  birds.  It  has  been 
claimed  that  the  disease  may  be  carried  downstream 
from  herds  which  are  affected  above.  It  is  therefore 
well  to  avoid  placing  hogs  so  that  they  will  have  access 
to  streams  which  pass  through  other  farms. 

"After  cholera  has  visited  a  farm,  the  lots,  houses, 
feeding  troughs,  and  implements  used  for  cleaning  have 
naturally  become  contaminated  with  the  germs,  and  if 
new  stock  is  placed  in  such  yards  soon  after  these  were 
occupied  by  sick  hogs,  the  new  hogs  are  very  likely  to 
contract  the  disease,  but  if  such  yards  are  left  unoccu- 
pied the  germs  will  die  out  after  a  while.  It  is  not 
])ossible  to  tell  just  how  long  a  time  is  required  for 
these  germs  to  die  out.  It  is  safest  to  wait  as  long  as 
p()ssi1)le  before  placing  new  hogs  in  lots  tliat  ha\e  been 


540  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

infected — not  sooner  than  three  months  after  the  last 
hog  has  been  removed.  Before  restocking,  the  premises 
should  be  cleaned  and  thoroughly  disinfected. 

SYMPTOMS  OF  CHOLERA 

"The  beginning  of  cholera  in  a  herd  is  marked  by  the 
sickness  of  one  or  two  hogs,  and  the  disease  may  not 
be  suspected  until  a  week  or  two  later,  when  other  hogs 
are  attacked.  As  the  number  of  sick  hogs  increases  the 
opportunities  for  the  well  animals  to  contract  the  disease 
are  multiplied,  and  in  a  comparatively  short  time  all 
hogs  exposed  will  be  attacked. 

"The  symptoms  observed  in  particular  cases  will  be 
influenced  by  the  virulence  of  the  germ  responsible  for 
tlie  attack,  and  also  by  the  resisting  power  of  the  hogs. 
If  this  resisting  power  is  low,  or  if  the  germ  is  of  high 
virulence,  we  may  have  a  typical  manifestation  of  the 
acute  type  of  cholera.  In  this  the  chief  symptoms  are 
sluggishness,  disinclination  to  move,  weakness,  loss  of 
appetite,  a  high  fever,  inflammation  of  the  eyes  with 
gumming  of  the  lids,  and  maybe  diarrhea.  If  the 
animals  are  examined  carefully,  red  or  purplish  blotches 
may  be  seen  on  the  skin,  especially  over  the  surface  of 
tlie  abdomen,  on  the  inside  of  the  legs,  and  around  the 
ears  and  neck.  As  a  rule  the  progress  of  the  infection 
is  so  rapid  that  the  hog  is  not  greatly  emaciated  before 
death;  it  is,  in  fact,  usual  in  acute  outbreaks  for  hogs 
to  die  after  being  sick  only  a  few  days. 

"In  the  chronic  type  of  the  disease  the  symptoms  are 
finite   similar   to   those   seen   in   acute   cases.      The   sick 


THE  MOST  COMMON  DISEASES  OF  SWINE  54I 

hogs  are  sluggish  and  disincHned  to  move  when  dis- 
turbed, and  coughing  is  frequently  heard  when  they  are 
suddenly  roused.  They  may  eat  very  little  and  usually 
lose  flesh  rapidly,  finally  becoming  so  emaciated  and 
weak  that  they  stagger  or  walk  with  an  uncertain  gait, 
the  hind-legs  particularly  appearing  to  be  very  weak. 
The  eyes  become  inflamed  and  the  lids  may  be  gummed 
together.  After  the  flrst  few  days  of  illness  there  is  apt 
to  be  a  profuse  diarrhea,  and  in  these  chronic  cases  the 
hog  usually  lingers  for  several  weeks,  sometimes  months, 
before  it  finally  dies.  It  is  extremely  rare  for  such  an 
animal  to  recover  sufficiently  to  be  of  value. 

"At  the  beginning  of  an  outbreak  in  a  herd  it  is  a 
difficult  niatter  to  be  sure  that  hog  cholera  is  actually 
present,  for  the  outward  symptoms  are  not  character- 
istic, but  only  such  as  might  be  expected  in  any  acute 
disease.  The  same  may  be  said  of  some  of  the  changes 
which  take  place  in  the  internal  organs.  It  is  therefore 
necessary  to  consider  all  of  the  features  of  the  disease 
before  making  a  positive  decision  concerning  tlie  pres- 
ence or  absence  of  hog  cholera  in  a  herd. 

"The  important  features  of  hog  cholera  are: 

"i.  Contagiousness. 

"2.  Symptoms  of  severe  illness,  such  as  fever,  weak- 
ness, loss  of  appetite,  and  diarrhea. 

"3.  Hemorrhagic  spots  in  the  internal  organs  or  but- 
ton-like ulcers  in  the  intestines. 

"If  these  characteristics  are  found  in  a  disease  of 
hogs  in  this  country,  we  may  be  reasonably  certain  of 
the  presence  of  cholera. 

"Among  the  few  diseases  which  may  lead  to  uncer- 


542  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

tainty  are  digestive  troubles  (due  to  improper  feeding), 
swine  plague,  tuberculosis,  anthrax,  and  inflammation  of 
the  lungs  caused  by  worms. 

SWINE  PLAGUE 

"It  is  not  practicable  for  a  farmer  to  attempt  to  dis- 
tinguish between  hog  cholera  and  swine  plague,  for, 
while  swine  plague  is  generally  regarded  as  a  lung  affec- 
tion, and  cholera  as  a  disease  of  the  intestines,  the  fact 
is  that  practically  all  of  the  lesions  which  are  found  in 
cases  of  cholera  have  also  been  reported  as  being  present 
in  outbreaks  of  swine  plague.  There  is  at  present  a 
tendency  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  investigated 
these  diseases  to  regard  both  cholera  and  swine  plague 
as  caused  by  the  same  invisible  germ,  the  predominance 
of  lung  lesions  in  one  case  and  intestinal  inflammation 
in  the  other  being  caused  by  the  action  of  different 
germs  which  attack  the  hog  after  it  has  been  made  sick 
by  the  invisible  germ  which  is  looked  upon  as  the  prime 
cause  of  the  disease  in  both  cases.  However  this  may 
be,  it  is  quite  safe  to  say  that  the  great  losses  which 
occur  among  hogs  in  this  country  are  brought  about  by 
cholera,  and  that,  for  the  present  at  least,  we  may  ignore 
the  existence  of  swine  plague  as  a  separate  disease,  espe- 
cially as  the  general  measures  for  controlling  it  are  the 
same  as  those  required  in  cases  of  cholera. 

HOW  CHOLERA  DIFFERS  FROM  TUBERCULOSIS 

"The  distinguishing  features  between  hog  cholera  and 
tuberculosis  are  that  in  tuberculosis  the  onset   is  slow 


THE  MOST  COMMON  DISEASES  OF  SWIXE  543 

rather  than  sudden,  as  is  the  case  in  cholera;  hkewise 
the  progress  is  very  slow,  and  the  symptoms  are  those 
of  general  unthriftiness  rather  than  of  acute  illness. 
7\iberculosis  does  not  show  a  tendency  to  spread  rap- 
idly, as  is  the  case  in  cholera,  and  the  deaths,  if  any 
occur,  will  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  follow  a  pro- 
longed illness. 

ANTHRAX 

"Hogs  are  rarely  affected  by  anthrax,  but  when  this 
does  occur  it  might  be  readily  mistaken  for  acute  chol- 
era. The  distinguishing  features  of  anthrax  are  marked 
swelling  of  the  throat  and  tongue,  with  frequently  a 
bloody  froth  in  the  mouth,  and  further  by  the  fact  that 
anthrax  in  hogs  usually  follows  disease  in  other  animals 
on  the  farm,  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  being  more  sus- 
ceptible to  anthrax  than  hogs. 

LUNG  WORMS 

"Young,  growing  pigs  are  at  times  attacked  by  lung 
worms,  which  bring  about  an  inflammation  of  the  air 
passages.  The  most  important  symptoms  are  general 
unthriftiness,  and  a  hard  cough.  Old  hogs  are  rarely 
attacked  and  the  younger  hogs  usually  recover.  The 
worms  are  very  small  (one-half  to  one  inch  in  length), 
and  examination  of  the  frothy  expectoration  of  sick 
hogs  or  of  the  lungs  after  death  is  usually  required  to 
make  a  positive  diagnosis.  In  this  disease  there  is  an 
entire  absence  of  symptoms  of  acute  illness  such  as 
usually  accompany  an  attack  of  cholera. 


544  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

GENERAL  PREVENTIVE  MEASURES 

"All  that  is  necessary  to  prevent  hog  cholera  is  to  keep 
the  germ  of  the  disease  away  from  the  herd.  In  the 
vast  majority  of  cases  this  germ  is  transported  mechan- 
ically, in  the  bodies  of  sick  hogs  and  on  the  feet  of  men 
or  animals,  including  birds.  It  thus  follows  that  the 
chances  of  an  outbreak  of  hog  cholera  will  be  greatly 
lessened,  if  not  completely  avoided,  if  a  herd  is  protected 
from  these  carriers  of  the  infection.  The  enforcement 
of  a  complete  cjuarantine  is  not  practicable,  and  the  best 
that  can  be  hoped  for  is  the  lessening  of  the  opportunity 
for  infection  by  placing  the  herd  on  a  part  of  the  farm 
that  will  be  the  least  accessible  to  men  or  animals  from 
other  farms.  Hog  lots  should  never  be  located  near 
public  roads.  All  newly  purchased  stock  should  be  kept 
separate  from  the  main  herd  for  at  least  thirty  days. 

"In  addition  to  protecting  by  methods  of  quarantine, 
careful  attention  should  be  given  to  the  general  health. 
The  hogs  should  be  provided  with  clean,  dry  sleeping 
places,  and  the  lots  and  feeding  troughs  be  kept  clean. 
It  is  well  occasionally  to  scatter  slaked  lime  about  the 
lots  and  to  wash  and  disinfect  the  troughs.  Probably 
the  best  disinfectant  for  this  purpose  is  the  compou'.id 
solution  of  cresol  (U.  S.  P.),  which  can  be  prepared  at 
any  drug  store.  One  part  of  this  should  be  mixed  with 
30  parts  of  water  and  the  troughs  scrubbed  with  it.  Th.e 
disinfectant  is  then  washed  out  of  the  troughs  with  water. 

"After  an  outbreak  of  cholera  the  yards  and  pens 
should  be  thoroughly  cleaned,  all  dead  hogs  should  be 
burned  or  buried  deep  with  quicklime,  the  litter  should 


THE  MOST  COMMON  DISEASES  OF  SWINE  545 

be  collected  and  burned,  and  lime  scattered  freely  o\er 
tlie  ground.  The  sheds  and  hog  houses  should  be 
washed  thoroughly  with  the  solution  of  cresol  as  de- 
scribed before  new  stock  is  brought  on  the  place.  Feed- 
ing troughs  used  by  sick  pigs  should  be  burned  if  made 
uf  wood,  but  if  this  is  not  practicable  they  should  be 
scrubbed  clean  and  thoroughly  soaked  with  the  cresol 
solution,  the  latter  being  washed  out  before  the  troughs 
are  used  again. 

"It  is  possible  to  start  an  outbreak  of  hog  cholera  by 
bringing  hogs  on  the  farm  that  have  had  the  disease 
and  have  apparently  recovered.  For  safety's  sake  two 
or  three  months  should  elapse  after  complete  recovery 
before  placing  such  an  animal  with  susceptible  pigs,  and 
then  only  after  washing  or  dipping  in  a  disinfectant 
solution  (compound  solution  of  cresol,  i  to  loo)." 

"In  Farmers'  Bulletin  24,  Dr.  D.  \L  Salmon  gave  the 
following  formula  for  a  medicine  which  was  used  many 
years  ago  as  a  preventixe  and  cure  for  hog  cholera : 

Pounds 

Wood  charcoal i 

Sulphur I 

Sodium  chlorid 2 

Sodium  bicarbonate 2 

Sodium  hyposulphite 2 

Sodium  sulphate i 

Antimony  sulphid  (black  antimony) i 

"Experience  has  shown  that  this  is  not  to  be  regarded 
as  a  cure  or  preventive  in  the  true  sense,  Ijut  is  nc\cr- 
theless  a  very  good  condition  powder.  Tin's  is  mixed 
with  the  feed  in  the  proportion  of  a  large  tablcspoonful 


546  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

to  each  200  pounds'  weight  of  hogs  to  be  treated,  and 
given  once  a  day. 

PREVENTION  BY  INOCULATION 

"The  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  has  endeavored  for 
a  number  of  years  to  find  a  medicine  or  serum  which 
could  be  used  for  preventing  hog  cholera  or  for  curing 
hogs  sick  of  that  disease.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that 
hogs  which  have  recovered  from  hog  cholera  are  there- 
after immune  against  that  disease.  The  experiments  of 
the  Bureau  resulted  in  the  discovery  that  it  is  entirely 
possible  to  protect  hogs  if  they  are  treated  with  serum 
from  a  properly  treated  immune  hog. 

"The  method  of  producing  the  serum  is  briefly  as  fol- 
lows : 

"A  vigorous  immune  hog — that  is,  one  which  has  re- 
covered from  an  attack  of  hog  cholera  or  one  which  has 
been  exposed  to  the  disease  without  contracting  it — is 
treated  with  a  large  cjuantity  of  blood  from  a  hog  sick 
of  hog  cholera.  After  a  week  or  two  blood  is  drawn 
from  the  immune  by  cutting  off  the  end  of  the  tail. 
After  standing,  the  blood  clot  is  removed  and  the  serum 
or  fluid  portion  of  the  blood  is  mixed  with  a  weak  solu- 
tion of  carbolic  acid  and  filled  into  sterilized  bottles. 
We  have  in  this  fluid  portion  of  the  immune's  blood  the 
serum  which  will  protect  hogs  from  cholera.  This  serum 
is  used  in  either  one  of  two  ways,  namely,  (i)  the 
serum  inoculation,  and  (2)  the  simultaneous  inocula- 
tion. These  two  methods  of  treatment  are  carried  out 
as  follows : 

"Serum  inoculation. — The  hogs  which  are  to  be  pro- 


THE  MOST  COMMON  DISEASES  OF  SWINE  ^^47 

tected  are  injected  on  the  inside  of  the  hind-leg  with  a 
suitable  dose  of  the  serum  alone.  This  injection  will 
serve  to  protect  hogs  from  hog  cholera  for  several 
weeks  and,  in  some  cases,  for  a  longer  time.  But  if 
the  hog  is  not  exposed  to  hog  cholera  within  a  few 
weeks  after  this  treatment,  the  immunity  which  is  con- 
ferred by  the  serum  will  gradually  lessen  in  degree  and 
the  hog  may  again  become  susceptible.  If,  however, 
the  hog  is  exposed  to  cholera  within  a  short  time  after 
the  injection  of  the  serum,  the  immunity  becomes,  so 
far  as  experiments  have  shown,  of  permanent  and  life- 
long duration. 

"The  injection  of  the  serum  alone  is  especially  to  be 
recommended  in  cases  where  there  is  immediate  danger 
of  exposure,  especially  when  valuable  hogs  are  carried 
to  fairs,  and  in  herds  where  the  disease  has  already 
broken  out  but  has  not  progressed  \ery  far.  In  herbs 
of  this  character  all  of  the  well  animals  may  be  treated, 
and  even  in  the  case  of  slightly  sick  animals  much  good 
may  be  accomplished  by  the  serum  injection. 

"Su}iiilta)icoits  inoculation. — In  this  form  of  vaccina- 
tion the  same  serum  is  used  as  is  employed  when  tlic 
serum  alone  is  used,  but  in  addition  to  the  serum  there 
is  injected  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  body,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  serum,  a  very  small  amount  of  blood 
taken  from  a  hog  sick  of  cholera.  This  simultaneous 
injection  of  serum  and  virulent  blood  confers  upon  the 
injected  pig  a  permanent  and  lasting  immunity,  and  is 
therefore  to  be  recominended  in  cases  of  well  herds 
which  may  not  be  exposed  for  some  months  after  the 
treatment. 


54^  SWINE  IN   AMERICA 

"Safety  of  the  methods. — Properly  prepared  serum 
used  alone,  without  the  employment  of  blood  from  a 
sick  hog,  is  harmless  and  incapable  of  giving  rise  to  an 
attack  of  cholera.  Nor  does  this  injection  interfere  in 
any  way  with  the  growth  of  the  treated  hogs. 

"The  simultaneous  inoculation,  involving  as  it  does 
the  use  of  a  disease-producing  virus,  requires  much 
more  care  when  employed  than  does  the  serum-alone  in- 
oculation, for,  if  from  any  cause  the  serum  should  be 
weaker  than  required,  injury  to  the  vaccinated  hog 
might  result.  This  danger  is  extremely  slight  when 
carefully  tested  serum  is  used. 

"In  deciding  which  method  to  use  one  must  be  gov- 
erned largely  by  the  length  of  immunity  which  is  re- 
quired. If  this  is  needed  for  only  a  few  weeks,  or  if 
the  treatment  can  be  repeated  at  short  intervals,  as  in 
the  case  of  exceptionally  valuable  pure-bred  hogs,  where 
the  increased  cost  would  not  be  objected  to,  the  serum 
alone  may  be  used.  In  other  cases  the  simultaneous 
method  is  recommended.  In  either  process  of  vaccina- 
tion it  is  considered  highly  desirable  for  the  treatment 
to  be  applied  by  competent  veterinarians  who  have  had 
special  training  in  this  class  of  work,  and  only  such 
skilled  men  should  employ  the  simultaneous  process. 
After  treatment  by  the  simultaneous  method  the  herd 
should  be  kept  under  observation  for  ten  days  or  two 
weeks,  and  if  any  of  the  inoculated  hogs  show  serious 
symptoms  of  disease  the  herd  should  be  immediately 
re-treated  with  the  serum  alone.  When  properly  per- 
formed, the  simultaneous  inoculation  does  not  seem  to 
injure  the  hog  or  interfere  with  its  growth  in  any  way, 


THE  MOST  COMMUN  DISEASES  OF  SWINE  549 

and  if  the  precautions  indicated  are  taken  it  is  safe 
enough  for  practical  use. 

"While  in  practice  the  serum  may  not  always  give  as 
good  results  as  have  generally  been  obtained,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  if  used  properly  and  in  the  early  period 
of  an  outbreak  of  cholera  it  will  effect  a  very  large 
saving. 

"The  Department  of  Agriculture  has  brought  this 
method  of  preventing  hog  cholera  to  the  attention  of 
the  \arious  state  experiment  stations  and  live  stock 
sanitary  boards  throughout  the  country,  and  has  pro- 
posed to  them  that  they  prepare  a  serum  for  the  benciit 
of  hog  raisers,  as  the  preparation  of  serum  by  the 
Federal  Government  on  a  large  enough  scale  to  supply 
the  needs  of  the  entire  country  seemed  to  be  imprac- 
ticable. As  a  result  of  this,  a  number  of  the  states 
have  taken  up  the  work,  and  in  practically  all  cases 
where  a  thorough  test  has  been  made  they  have  con- 
iirmed  the  results  obtained  by  the  department  with 
this  method.  We  therefore  feel  safe  in  saying  that  this 
process  will  prevent  cholera,  provided  due  care  is  given 
to  the  preparation  of  the  serum  and  to  its  application. 

"The  serum  preparation  is  of  such  a  nature  that  it 
sliould  not  be  undertaken  by  farmers  themselves,  but 
slKHild  be  under  the  control  of  trained  men  who  have 
h.ad  experience  in  bacteriology  and  who  are  also 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  diseases  which  affect  hogs. 

"It  should  be  remembered  that  this  serum  is  to  be 
used  especially  as  a  preventive,  and  that  little  success 
can  be  expected  in  herds  which  are  badly  affected  with 
cholera.     An  early  application  is   essential,   and   in   the 


550  SWINE  IX   AMERICA 

Slates  w  hich  have  taken  tip  this  work  the  farmers  shoukl 
notify  the  proper  authorities  immediately  upon  their  hogs 
becoming  ill,  so  that  they  may  be  treated  at  once. 

"Inasmuch  as  the  serum  described  is  a  comparatively 
new  substance,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  success  will 
always  follow  its  use,  but  as  it  has  been  already 
definitely  proved  that  hog  cholera  may  be  prevented 
with  this  serum,  the  failures,  if  they  occur,  will  be 
caused  by  local  conditions  or  variations  in  the  details 
of  serum  production,  which  can  be  corrected. 

"The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  does 
not  prepare  anti-hog  cholera  serum  for  distribution. 
Those  who  wish  to  obtain  it  should  apply  to  their  re- 
spective state  veterinarians  or  agricultural  colleges." 

BURNING  CHOLERA  CARCASSES 

Burning  is  the  preferable  method  of  disposing  of  in- 
fected carcasses.  The  wood  should  not  be  piled  over  the 
carcass,  as  this  impedes  circulation  of  the  air.  Start  a 
good  fire  and  place  on  it  one  carca'ss  at  a  time  until  all 
have  been  destroyed. 

TUBERCULOSIS 

Because  of  its  insidious  nature,  tuberculosis  is  more 
to  be  dreaded  than  cholera.  The  rapid  manner  in 
which  a  hog  will  lay  on  fat  seems  to  enable  him  suc- 
cessfully to  resist  the  destructive  nature  of  the  disease 
until  he  can  be  sent  to  the  packer.  At  times,  however, 
the  symptoms  of  tuberculosis  may  be  observed  through 
a  noticeable  enlargement  of  parts  of.  the  body,  particu- 
larly the  glands  of  the  neck,  accompanied  with  diarrhea 


THE    MOST    COMMOiX    DISEASES    OF    SWINE  55 1 

and  swelling  of  the  joints.  -An  affected  animal  will 
sometimes  show  loss  of  flesh,  and  in  this  case  the  dis- 
ease has  usually  reached  the  stage  which  means  the 
death  of  the  hog  in  a  coniDaratively  short  time,  usually 
in  a  few  weeks. 

The  United  States  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  estimat- 
ed in  1906  (Bulletin  No.  38)  that  the  approximate 
number  of  carcasses  of  hogs  condemned  annually  by 
Federal  meat  inspectors  because  of  tuberculosis  totals 
65,000,  valued  at  $780,000,  and  in  addition  to  these 
there  were,  in  1905,  142,105  parts  of  hog  carcasses 
condemned  for  the  same  cause.  This  total  of  $780,000 
is  nearly  double  the  amount  representing  the  value  of 
beef  carcasses  annually  condemned  because  of  tuber- 
culosis, and  the  value  is  steadily  on  the  increase. 

The  main  source  of  contagion  is  from  the  skimmed 
milk  and  droppings  of  dairy  cows,  and  tuberculosis  in 
swine  is  most  prevalent  in  the  dairy  sections.  Scientists 
generally  agree  that  the  tuberculosis  of  hogs  and  other 
mammals  may  be  communicated  to  human  beings,  and 
that  tuberculosis  of  human  beings  is  communicable  to 
swine,  dogs  and  cats,  although  not  generally  communi- 
cable to  cattle. 

Tuberculosis  is  due  to  a  microbe  which  multiplies  onlv 
inside  the  animal  body  and  produces  tuberculosis  among 
all  domestic  animals  and  a  great  many  wild  animals.  A 
full  description  of  the  manner  of  infection  through  the 
tubercular  bacillus  is  given  in  ''Tuberculosis  of  the  Food 
Producing  Animals."  prepared  by  Salmon  as  Bulletin 
No.  38  of  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry,  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture. 


552  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

Up  to  within  a  recent  time,  knowledge  of  tuberculosis 
as  affecting  swine  has  been  cjuite  limited,  as  most  observa- 
tions of  the  disease  in  animals  had  been  in  connection 
with  cattle.  Its  spread  among  hogs,  has,  however,  been 
so  rapid  that  increased  attention  has  of  late  been  given 
to  its  dangerous  character  and  to  measures  of  pre- 
vention. In  states,  as  in  Wisconsin,  where  the  pasteuriza- 
tion of  skimmed  milk  used  for  feeding  is  required,  a  very 
extensive  source  of  contagion  is  thereby  removed.  Pack- 
ers ha\-e  in  some  instances  been  compelled  to  protect 
themselves  by  refusing  to  purchase  hogs  from  a  noto- 
riously infected  district.  In  many  cases,  however,  this 
method  is  regarded  as  drastic,  and,  as  Doctor  Salmon 
has  said,  ''There  are  probabl  but  a  small  proportion  of 
the  shippers  of  tubercular  hogs  who  know  that  they 
have  this  disease  in  their  herds,  and  the  evidence  of  the 
fact  which  is  discovered  in  the  abbattoirs  is  never 
brought  to  their  attention." 

It  seems  probable  that  the  combined  efforts  of  federal 
and  state  authorities,  the  packers  and  the  hog  raisers, 
are  essential  to  the  control  of  this  disease  in  swine,  and 
that  its  eradication  must  be  conducted  co-ordinately  with 
a  similar  movement  for  eradicating  it  from  cattle.  A 
first  essential  to  this  is  a  realization  by  the  owners  of 
hogs  or  cattle  of  the  great  danger  attending  the  dis- 
ease. Assuredly,  no  one  who  stops  to  consider  that  he 
may  be  planting  the  seeds  of  c(Misumption  in  members  of 
his  own  family  would  hesitate  to  assist  in  taking  decisive 
measures!  When  tin's  possibility  is  realized  generally, 
and  is  brought  home,  the  solution  of  the  problem  will 
be  much  nearer  at  hand.    Even  if  looked  at  from  a  purely 


THE    MOST    COMMON    DISEASES    OF    SWINE  553 

monetary  point  of  view  the  eradication  of  the  (hsease 
would,  in  itself,  within  a  very  few  years,  make  good  the 
expense  incurred,  through  the  saving  of  animals  that 
would  otherwise  he  condemned. 

The  number  of  herds  in  which  tuberculosis  exists  is 
small  as  compared  with  tlie  number  of  animals  affected, 
'i'his  fact  in  one  wa\-  makes  the  eradication  problem 
easier;  but  in  another  it  is  thereby  the  more  difficult,  since 
farmers  generally  do  not  realize  that  the  dangers  from 
tuberculosis  are  much  greater  than  those  from  cholera, 
which  leaves  ravages  so  boldly  apparent  to  the  eye  and 
the  pocketbook.  Dr.  Burton  Rogers  of  the  Kansas  experi- 
ment station  is  satislied,  as  a  result  of  investigations  made 
at  different  times,  that  less  than  six  per  cent  of  the  hog 
raisers  of  the  country  send  to  market  animals  affected 
with  tuberculosis.  Pie  found,  in  tagging  3,430  hogs, 
brought  to  market  in  626  different  wagons,  that  only  39 
farmers  had  brought  in  hogs  that  were  affected.  This 
was  in  a  district  where  tuberculosis  was  supposed  to  be 
especially  prevalent.  Dr.  Rogers  believes  that  the  only 
solution  of  the  animal  tuberculosis  problem  is  for  the 
94  per  cent  of  the  farmers  who  do  not  ha\e  tuberculosis 
in  their  herds  to  insist  upon  the  stamping  out  of  the  dis- 
ease by  the  six  per  cent  who  own  affected  herds. 

The  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  (Bulletin  No.  88) 
says:  "The  feces  of  cattle  that  swallow  tubercle  bacilli 
are  highly  infectious  for  hogs  that  are  exposed  to  them. 
The  feces  of  tuberculous  cattle  very  probably  contain 
numerous  tubercle  bacilli  that  reach  the  intestines  through 
swallowing  or  otherwise.  .  .  .  We  judge  from  ex- 
periments made  in  which  hogs  were  fed  large  quantities 


554  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

of  such  milk  that  of  the  two  methods — the  exposure  of 
hogs  to  the  feces  or  to  the  milk  of  tuberculous  cattle — the 
former  has  by  far  the  greater  damage,  eutirely  apart 
from  the  fact  that  exposure  to  the  feces  in  the  manner 
in  which  it  occurs  is  never  a  simple  exposure  to  one  thing, 
but  a  general  exposure  to  all  the  infectious  material  that 
may  pass  from  cattle,  irrespective  of  whether  they  are 
milk-producing  animals  or  not.  .  .  .  It  is  a  question 
whether  the  tuberculosis  that  occurs  among  hogs  as- 
sociated with  dairy  establishments  is  not  more  directly 
traceable  to  the  feces  of  tuberculous  cows  than  to  skim 
milk. 

"No  farmer  and  no  aairyman  who  is  acquainted  with 
the  value  of  the  undigested  grain  or  other  nutriment  in 
cattle  feces  as  a  food  for  hogs,  fails  to  feed  as  much  of 
it  as  he  possibly  can.  .  .  .  The  system  in  practice  in 
many  portions  of  the  country  of  turning  a  herd  of  hogs 
behind  a  herd  of  cattle  that  are  being  fattened  for  market 
may  be  accountable  for  tuberculosis  among  hogs  if  the 
disease  exists  among  the  cattle.  Hogs  associated  in  this 
way  with  cattle  may  be  protected  effectually  from  tuber- 
culosis by  applying  the  tuberculin  test  to  the  cattle  and 
removing  every  animal  from  the  herd  that  shows  a  reac- 
tion indicative  of  the  presence  of  tuberculosis.  And  it 
is  strongly  recommended  that  in  regions  where  tuber- 
culosis among  hogs  has  been  discovered,  the  cattle  with 
which  they  are  associated  be  first  of  all  tested,  and  re- 
acting animals  segregated  or  disposed  of  in  a  way  that 
will  insure  against  further  harm  from  them.     .     .     . 

"The  feces  of  tuberculous  cattle  are  a  menace  to  hogs 
even  when  not  deliberately  fed  to  them.     Very  few  es- 


THE    MOST    COMMON    DISEASES    OF    SWINE  555 

tablishments  rliat  keep  both  hogs  and  cattle  make  pro- 
visions effectually  to  prevent  the  access  of  the  former 
to  the  manure  heap  on  which  the  droppings  of  the  latter 
are  thrown.  No  farmer  or  stockman  intentionally  prac- 
tices a  swstem  of  feeding  that  is  lacking  in  economy,  and 
to  know  the  benefits  that  are  derived  by  hogs  from  the 
manure  heap  of  stables  containing  heavily  grain-fed  dairy 
or  beef  cattle  immediately  causes  its  location  in  the  hog 
yard.  This  practice  is  not  harmful  when  the  cattle  are 
healtliy.  but  when  they  are  affected  with  tuberculosis,  it 
means,  in  the  light  of  the  evidence  we  now  have,  an  al- 
most certain  transference  of  the  disease  to  the  hogs." 

The  tuberculin  test  used  upon  cattle  is  practicable  for 
hogs,  and  its  results  fully  as  reliable,  if  the  hogs  are  kept 
(|uiet  throughout  the  test  and  for  some  time  before.  This 
was  demonstrated  by  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry 
(Bulletin  No.  88).  As  keeping  hogs  quiet  is  ordina- 
rily quite  difficult,  and  yet  essential,  the  application  of 
tlie  test  to  swine  is  a  more  uncertain  undertaking  than 
it  is  with  cattle. 

SOME  INTESTINAIi  AND  OTHER  WORMS 

The  hog  is  host  for  a  ^•ariety  of  intestinal  worms. 
It  is  doubtful  if  more  than  a  small  percentage  of  swine 
growers  realize  the  extent  to  which  hogs  are,  ordinarily, 
infested  with  worms,  or  the  menace  these  parasites  are 
to  the  health,  thrift  and  lives  of  their  animals.  One 
intelligent  observer  ventures  to  express  the  belief  that 
lirdf  the  ills  or  diseases  which  afflict  swine  are  traceable, 
directlv  or  indirectlv.  to  worms.     A  ho«-  afflicted  with 


556  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

worms  cannot  grow  or  thrive  to  best  advantage,  be- 
cause of  being  in  an  al^normal  condition,  and  in  such  a 
c(Midition  must,  further,  be  more  susceptible  to  attacks 
of  (h'sease.  Among  the  worms  more  common  to  the 
hog  are  the  Pin  worm.  Long  Thread  worm,  Round 
worm  (most  common),  Thorn-headed  worm,  and  the 
Ki(hiey  worm;  also  one  called  Sfroiigyliis  (Icittatus,  which 
lives  in  the  intestines,  and  Sfrongylus  clongatus,  which 
lives  in  the  lungs  and  air  passages,  and  others  of  less  im- 
portance. Dr.  D.  Mcintosh,  of  the  University  of  Il- 
linois, in  his  work  entitled  "Diseases  of  Swine"  treats  of 
these  worms  comprehensively  thus : 

PIN  WORMS 

"The  seat  of  these  worms  is  the  rectum,  but  they  are 
sometimes  found  in  the  colon,  and  have  been  seen  in 
the  stomach;  on  this  account  they  have  been  called  the 
maw-worm.  They  are  usually  about  3^  inch  long  and 
white  in  color;  they  multiply  very  rapidly;  their  eggs 
are  very  small,  and  are  often  deposited  on  the  grass, 
and  may  be  washed  into  the  streams  or  ponds  of  water 
and  in  this  way  enter  the  stomach  and  IdowcIs.  They 
are  found  in  all  the  higher  animals.  They  usually  cause 
itcln'ng  at  the  root  of  the  tail,  or  by  reflex  action  cause 
derangement  of  other  parts  of  the  body.  Though  pro- 
ductive of  great  annoyance  and  even  suffering,  they  do 
not  usually  injure  the  health  of  the  animal. 

"Clean  out  the  rectum  by  injections  of  warm  water. 
Infuse  two  ounces  of  quassia  chips  in  one  pint  of  boil- 
ing water,  and  when  ci^ol.  inject  ft  into  the  rectum;  re- 


THE    MOST    COMMON    DISEASES    OF    SWINE  557 

peat  in  a  week  if  necessary.     A  brisk  purge  will  often 
wash  out  a  number  of  them. 

LONG  THREAD  WORM 

"This  is  found  most  frequently  in  some  part  of  the 
colon  and  cecum,  l)ut  sometimes  in  the  small  intestines, 
either  loose  or  witii  its  anterior  capillary  portion  inserted 
into  the  mucous  membrane.  It  is  often  observed  in  great 
numbers  in  animals  that  have  died  from  some  acute 
disease.  I  ha\e  found  numbers  of  these  worms  par- 
tially buried  in  the  mucous  membrane,  but  they  did  not 
seem  to  have  caused  much  disturbance.  They  are  about 
Yi  inch  to  lYz  inches  long,  about  as  thick  as  a  com- 
mon thread,  and  are  very  active  in  their  motion.  From 
experiments  that  have  been  made,  it  appears  that  the 
()\a  are  never  developed  in  the  animal  body,  but  being 
discharged  with  the  feces,  retain  their  vitality  for  a 
long  time,  and  if  placed  in  water,  become  at  the  end  of 
about  eight  and  a  half  months  developed  into  embryos, 
about  1-300  of  an  inch  in  length.  It  is  probable 
tliat  these  are  carried  l)y  the  rain  and  other  means 
into  streams,  wells,  etc.,  whence  the  drinking  water 
is  derived,  and  thus  they  become  fully  developed. 
There  are  no  particular  symptoms  by  which  we  can  de- 
lect this  worm  from  others  during  the  life  of  the  animal, 
and  the  treatment  would  be  the  same  as  for  the  Thorn- 
headed  worm.  Very  often  when  worm  medicine  is  given, 
a  variety  of  worms  will  be  discharged  at  the  same  time. 

ROUND  WORM 

"A  round,  smooth  worm  of  considerable  size;  the 
mrde  usually  reaches,  when  fully  developed,  si.x  inches, 


55^  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

and  the  female  may  be  twice  that  length.  This  worm 
usually  does  no  harm  when  there  are  only  a  few  present. 
The  animal  will  likely  keep  in  good  health,  but  when 
they  are  numerous,  they  will  disturb  digestion  and  cause 
colicky  pains,  loss  of  flesh,  dry  hair,  morbid  appetite, 
restlessness  and  nervous  twitching,  and  in  some  cases, 
fits.  Cases  are  recorded  in  which  they  worked  through 
the  walls  of  the  intestines  and,  reaching  some  of  the 
other  organs  of  the  body,  caused  death  This  worm 
generally  inhabits  the  small  intestine,  but  not  infrequently 
finds  its  way  forward  to  the  stomach,  or  liackwards  to 
the  rectum,  and  sometimes  escapes  from  the  intestine 
through  the  anus.  This  worm  has  also  been  found  in  the 
biliary  duct,  gall  bladder,  and  the  substance  of  the  liver. 
There  have  been  a  number  of  experiments  made  to  find 
the  origin  of  this  worm,  and  it  is  found  that  its  eggs 
are  passed  from  the  bowel.  They  retain  their  vitality 
for  a  long  time ;  they  appear  never  to  be  developed  in 
the  bowels,  but  when  discharged  and  kept  in  water  they 
begin  to  show  signs  of  life,  and  in  about  seven  months 
contain  embryo  worms  1-120  of  an  inch  in  length.  These 
have  not  been  seen  to  break  shell,  but  the  ova.  carried  into 
streams,  ponds,  and  wells,  sometimes  probably  find  an 
entrance  into  the  stomach  with  the  drinking  water,  when 
the  embryo  escapes  from  its  shell  and  completes  its 
growth  in  the  intestine. 

"The  best  remedy  for  this  worm  is  the  fluid  extract 
of  spigelia  and  senna,  given  in  5'2-ounce  doses  every 
four  hours  until  it  causes  purging.  Wormseed  oil  (che- 
nopodium),  in  doses  of  from  five  to  ten  drops,  given  in 
a  tablespoonful  of  castor  oil,  is  also  good.     Turpentine 


THE    MOST    COMMON    DISEASES    OF    SWINE 


559 


in  doses  of  from  15  to  20  drops,  three  times  a  day,  fol- 
lowed by  castor  oil  or  epsom  salts,  is  useful.  The  cedar 
apple,  an  excrescence  found  on  the  red  cedar,  has  been 
used  with  good  results,  in  doses  of  from  20  to  23  g-rains 
of  the  powder,  repeated  three  times  a  day.  followed  by  a 
physic. 


THE    ROUND    WORM 

THOKX- HEADED   WORM 

"This  is  quite  frequently  found  in  the  intestines  of 
pigs;  it  is  easily  known  by  the  peculiar  proboscis,  which 
bears  several  circles  of  small  but  sharp  hooks.  They 
locate  usually  in  the  small  intestines  of  the  pig,  where 
they  fasten  themselves  by  means  of  the  spiny  proboscis 
mentioned  above,  this  being  pushed  into  the  lining  mem- 
brane of  the  intestine.  In  some  cases  they  liore  through 
this  and  migrate  to  other  parts  of  the  body,  where  their 
j)resence  causes  great  disturbance.  The  eggs  of  this 
worm  pass  from  the  hog  and  are  eaten  by  the  grubs  of 
certain  large  beetles ;  in  the  stomach  of  these  grubs  the 
eggs  dexelop  into  embryos,  or,  rather  the  embryos  al- 
ready de\-eloped  are  set  free  and  bore  through  the  in- 
testine and  locate  themselves  in  the  body  of  the  grub. 
Here  they  become  encysted  and  remain  dormant  until 
the  grub  is  eaten  by  the  pig,  and  then  once  in  the  stomach 
or  intestine  of  this  animal  it  develops  into  a  worm  at 
once.  The  color  of  this  worm  is  white  or  bluish  white, 
the  female  being  from  5  to  20  inches  in  length,  while  the 
male  is  from  3  to  5  inches  long.     The  female  is  very 


c6o  SWINE    IN    AMERICA 

13rolific,  producing  immense  numbers  of  eggs,  which  are 
of  a  somewhat  oblong-oval  shape. 

"Pigs  may  have  a  number  of  these  worms  without 
their  causing  any  noticeable  derangement ;  on  the  other 
hand,  they  often  derange  the  digestion  and  assimilation, 
causing  loss  of  flesh  and  a  general  unhealthy  appearance. 
The  animal  is  usually  hungry  and  may  eat  large  quan- 
tities of  food  and  yet  remain  thin.  \Mien  a  pig  has 
such  symptoms,  with  the  absence  of  any  other  ailment, 
we  may  suspect  that  worms  are  the  cause.  In  very  bad 
cases  the  pig  becomes  weak  in  the  loins  and  the  mem- 
brane in  the  corners  of  the  eyes  swollen,  red  and  watery; 
the  animal  suffers  pain,  which  is  indicated  by  it  contin- 
ually grunting  or  squealing;  such  hogs  are  usually  bad 
tempered  and  will  bite  and  snarl  at  the  other  pigs.  In 
some  cases  the  weakness  increases  and  the  animal  is  un- 
able to  stand,  and  soon  dies. 

"This  worm  is  easily  removed  by  medicine.  Give 
one-half  ounce  of  the  fluid  extract  of  spigelia  and  senna 
at  a  dose  every  four  hours  until  purging  takes  place,  or 
'  30  grains  of  koosin  as  a  pill ;  one  dose  of  this  is  usually 
sufficient.  Another  good  remedy  is  to  beat  up  two  ounces 
of  pumpkin  seeds  into  a  pulp  with  sugar  and  give  at  one 
dose ;  this  should  be  followed  in  four  hours  with  a  brisk 
physic — castor  oil  or  epsom  salts.  Santonine  is  also 
useful  in  from  three  to  five-grain  doses  made  into  a  pill. 
Chcnopodie  oleum  (wormseed  oil),  in  from  20  to  30 
drops  may  be  given  in  a  little  syrup,  followed  in  two 
hours  by  a  purge.  These  medicines  should  be  given  on 
an  empty  stomach.  If  the  animal  has  become  very 
weak  the  strength  should  be  kept  up  by  stimulants,  such 


THE    iMOST    COMMON    DISEASES    OF    SWINE  561 

as  sniail  doses  of  whisky  and  cod-liver  oil,  or  whisky  and 
eggs;  and  if  there  is  fever,  two  to  four  grains  of  quinine 
should  be  given  at  a  dose  three  times  a  day. 

KIDNEY  WOKM 

"This  is  found  in  the  kidneys  of  all  the  domestic  ani- 
mals and  in  man.  although  it  is  rare.  It  is  a  large  worm, 
and  it  is  said  that  sometimes  the  female  becomes  3  feet 
long  and  /<2   inch  in  diameter,  although  usuallv  much 


THE   KIDNEY   WORM 

less.  The  male  becomes  10  to  12  inches  long.  They 
arc  usually  only  a  few  inches  long.  The  body  is  smooth, 
round  and  tapering  somewhat  to  each  end,  and  of  a  deep 
red  color.  When  such  worms  are  present  in  the  kidneys 
they  gradually,  but  completely,  destroy  the  suljstance  of 
tlie  kidney,  which  becomes  filled  witli  purulent  matter, 
upon  which  the  worm  feeds,  while  the  walls  often  be- 
C()nie  hardened  with  calcareous  deposits.  The  effects 
and  symptoms  are  tiie  same  as  in  other  acute  diseases  or 
abscesses  in  one  of  the  kidneys.  The  only  positive  proof 
of  the  presence  of  the  worms  would  be  the  discovery 
of  the  eggs  in  the  urine.  It  is  probable  that  no  remedy 
can  be  applied  when  the  parasite  is  once  lodged  in  the 
kidney.  The  history  of  this  worm  is  not  fully  known. 
(Verill.) 


562  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

"I  have  found  live  worms  in  the  kidneys  of  both  the 
pig  and  dog.  and  the  kidneys  were  perfectly  healthy, 
and  neither  animal  seemed  to  be  in  any  way  affected  by 
them.  The  loss  of  power  of  the  hind  parts  of  pigs, 
which  has  been  attributed  to  kidney  worms,  is  not  due 
to  a  parasite,  but  to  paralysis  of  the  muscles  of  the  hind 
parts.  I  have  made  careful  investigations  of  such  cases, 
but  failed  to  find  any  worms  or  any  disease  of  the  kid- 
neys. Paralysis  of  the  hind  parts  would  not  be  the  symp- 
tom of  kidney  disease. 


THE    STRONGYLUS   DENTATUS 

STRONGYLUS  DENTATUS 

"This  worm  is  found  in  the  intestines  of  swine.  It  is 
a  slender,  filiform  worm  about  Yi  inch  long;  the  head 
is  obtuse  and  surrounded  by  six  acute  papillae;  the 
esophagus  is  short,  thick  and  muscular ;  in  the  male  the 
tail  is  truncated  and  provided  with  an  oblique  bursa;  in 
the  female  it  is  elongated  and  slender,  ending  in  a  fine 
point ;  the  genital  opening  is  near  the  posterior  end.  The 
history  of  this  worm  is  not  known.  It  does  not  seem  to 
do  much  harm.  The  usual  treatment  for  worms  is  nearly 
always  effectual  in  bringing  them  away.  I  have  seen 
quite  a  number  of  them  mixed  with  other  worms  in  the 
feces  of  a  hog  that  had  been  treated  for  worms. 


THE    MOST    COMMON    DISEASES    OF    SWINE  Z^()^ 

STRONGYLUS  ELONGATUS 

"This  species  lives  in  the  lungs  and  air  passages.  It 
is  about  I  to  i/<2  inches  long.  They  often  occur  singly 
or  several  together.  When  they  are  numerous  they  set 
up  great  disturbance,  often  resulting  in  the  death  of  the 
liost.  The  first  symptom  of  the  disease  is  a  cough,  us- 
ually slight  at  first,  but  soon  becoming  very  distressing, 
and  the  pig  shows  signs  of  suffocation,  which  sometimes 
takes  place,  or  inflammation  may  set  in  and  carry  the 
animal  oft".  This  disease  is  often  taken  for  catarrh  or 
some  other  respiratory  trouble,  and  it  is  very  difficult  to 
diagnose  unless  a  worm  which  has  been  coughed  up  may 
be  seen  protruding  from  the  nose. 

"Treatment  is  not  easy.  Small  quantities  of  turpen- 
tine injected  into  the  nostrils  may  reach  the  worms.  Tur- 
pentine given  in  teaspoonful  doses  three  times  daily  will 
sometimes  be  of  use,  as  the  turpentine  is  partly  eliminated 
by  the  lungs.  Inhaling  the  fumes  of  carbolic  acid  is  also 
useful. 

SPIIIOPTERA    STRONGYLINE 

"There  are  a  number  of  small,  whitish  or  reddish 
round  worms  which  taper  somewhat  toward  the  an- 
terior end,  or  toward  both  ends.  The  head  is  small,  with 
small  papillae  or  naked ;  the  male  grows  to  about  >4  inch 
long  o-  more;  the  female  r-3  inch  or  more;  it  lives  in 
the  stomach  of  the  pig,  but  generally  does  not  produce 
any  serious  disease.  The  fluid  extract  of  spigelia  and 
senna  in  }i  ounce  doses,  given  every  four  hours  until 
purging  ensues,  usually  dislodges  them. 


564  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

SCLEROSTOTUM   DENTATUM 

"This  is  a  small  worm  living  in  the  intestines  of 
swine.  The  male  is  about  1-3  inch  long;  the  female  >^ 
inch  long;  the  body  is  of  a  dark  color  and  the  surface  is 
finely  marked  with  transverse  striae.  It  is  quite  slender 
and  tapering  at  each  end,  but  the  male  has  near  the  tail 
a  three-lobed  expansion.  The  eggs  are  laid  in  the  in- 
testine, from  which  they  pass  out  into  the  open  air  and 
are  soon  hatched.  The  mouth  of  this  worm  is  circular 
and  armed  with  six  teeth,  by  means  of  which  it  attaches 
itself  to  the  intestine  and  pierces  the  tissue,  feeding  upon 
the  blood.  If  there  are  many  of  them  they  create  such  a 
drain  on  the  system  of  their  host  as  to  weaken  and  possi- 
bly destroy  it.  It  may  also  by  its  irritation  of  the  bowels 
cause  serious  trouble  and  disease.  An  active  purge  is 
the  best  remedy  for  the  removal  of  this  worm." 

MEASLES   AND   TRICHINA 

By  Dr.  C.  J.  Sillier,  formerly  of  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry. — The  illustrations 
give  some  idea  of  the  appearance  of  two  muscle 
parasites  which  are  easily  communicated  to  man 
by  the  consumption  of  the  uncooked  flesh  of  infested 
animals.  They  are  the  muscle  or  cysticercus  and  the 
TrieJiina  spiralis.  Measles  in  the  pig  is  the  cystic  form 
of  tapeworm  (Taenia  solium)  in  man.  From  the  ear- 
liest ages  its  existence  in  the  pig  was  known ;  but  only 
after  years  of  experiment,  and  not  until  about  the  year 
1845,  was  the  true  nature  of  this  parasite,  and  its  iden- 
tity with  the  tapeworm  in  man,  established.     There  are, 


THE    MOST    COAiiMUiX    DiSEASilS    ur    SWl.NE  5O5 

however,  three  distinct  species  of  tapeworm  which  infest 
man,  derived  from  the  pig,  ox  and  hsh,  but  the  measle 
in  the  pig  is  the  most  common.  Measles  in  swine  have 
no  resemblance  nor  any  relation  to  the  disease  by  that 
name  which  afflicts  the  human. 

Infection   from  this  source  is  much  more  rare  than 
formerly,  since  we  have  become  better  acquainted  with 


MEASLES    OR   TAPEWORM    IN    SWINE 

the  nature  of  the  parasite,  and  the  inspection  of  meat 
and  the  improved  methods  of  raising  pigs  have  lessened 
tlie  liability. 

The  above  figure  shows  the  cyst  as  it  appears  when 
taken  from  the  muscular  tissue;  also  the  head  of  the  par- 
asite and  one  of  the  hooks,  the  last  two  being  highly 
magnified. 

At  the  left  is  the  cyst  or  sack  containing  the  parasite 
and  is  filled  with  a  clear  fluid.  In  size  it  varies  from  a 
\ery  small  to  a  large  pea.  and  is  found  in  greater  or  less 
numbers  in  the  muscles.     In  the  center  is  the  cyst  with 


566 


SWINE  IN  AMERICA 


walls  removed,  and  showing  the  embryo  and  manner  in 
which  it  is  deported.  At  the  right  is  the  head  of  the 
parasite,  showing  the  rostellum  or  hooks  with  which  it 
attaches  itself  to  the  inner  coat  of  the  intestine;  also,  the 
four  sucker  discs  which  serve  the  same  purpose.  And 
below  is  shown  one  of  the  hooks  very  highly  magnified. 


ADULT  OF  THE  SWINE  TAPEWORM 


Herewith  are  shown  parts  of  the  adult  worm.  The 
left  sketch  shows  head  and  neck  of  the  worm  as  it  de- 
velops after  finding  a  lodging  place  in  the  intestine;  the 
center  shows  segments  still  more  developed  but  not  yet 
mature;  while  at  tlie  right  we  observe  a  fully  developed 
section.  Let  it  be  clearly  understood  that  the  tapeworm, 
no  matter  what  its  species,  does  not  live  and  grow  by 
sustenance  obtained  through  the  head,  but  by  absorption 
through  its  body  walls.  Each  of  the  segments  as  shown 
in  the  figure  is  complete  in  itself,  containing  male  and 
female  sexual  organs,  and  is  capable  of  producing  from 
3000  to  6000  eggs.  In  the  single  mature  section  shown, 
the  genital  pore  is  easily  observed.     This  parasite  can 


THE    MOST    COMMON    DISEASES    OF    SWINE 


567 


be  easily  detected  in  the  flesh  of  an  infested  hog  by  an 
obser\-ing-  person.  The  red  meat  is  much  paler  and  softer 
than  that  of  healthy  meat.  When  cut  it  presents  a  watery 
appearance,  caused  by  the  knife  dividing  the  numerous 
cysts  containing  the  fluid  heretofore  spoken  of.  This 
much  as  to  how  the  human  family  becomes  infested  with 
this  parasite.  As  to  how  to  get  rid  of  it,  I  will  refer 
}ou  to  my  eminent  brothers  of  the  medical  profession, 
who  can  give  you  much  information  on  this  subject 
which  does  not  properly  belong  to  a  paper  of  this  nature. 


THE  TRICHINA  WORM 


In  the  figure  above  is  shown  the  trichina,  an  entirely 
different  parasite,  which  humanity  derives  almost  solely 
from  the  pig.  This  parasite  is  one  with  which  the  pub- 
lic is  but  little  acquainted,  but  is  the  one  which  caused 
several  of  tiie  European  countries  to  place  an  embargo  on 
the  import  of  the  products  of  the  American  hog.  To 
overcome  this  embargo,  only  meat  which  has  been  mi- 
;  roscopically  examined  is  sent  to  the  objecting  countries. 
In  this  ficure  is  seen  the  mature  worm  and  also  those  in 


5b«  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

a  larval  state.  At  the  left  the  mature  male  worm  is 
shown,  and  in  the  center  the  female.  The  male  is  the 
smaller  of  the  two,  and  is  easily  distinguished  from  the 
female.  They  reproduce  themselves  within  a  few  days 
after  lodgment  in  the  intestines  and  in  great  numbers, 
one  female  yielding  from  5,000  to  15,000  living  young. 
The  young,  which  can  be  seen  in  the  figure  in  the  act  of 
emission,  begin  their  migration  soon  after  birth  and 
reach  the  voluntary  muscles  in  a  manner  yet  somewhat 
in  doubt,  after  which  they  become  encysted,  as  shown 
at  the  right.  They  remain  in  this  state  until  they  are 
again  taken  into  the  stomach,  where  they  are  liberated 
by  the  gastric  juice  and  again  reproduce  themselves. 
These  parasites  are  only  visible  under  the  microscope, 
and  for  this  reason  their  presence  in  the  system  may 
escape  the  notice  of  the  ordinary  practitioner. 

QUESTIONS    AND   ANSWERS 

If  the  embryo  tapeworm  is  taken  into  the  human 
stomach,  does  it  remain  there  in  a  different  state,  or  does 
it  pass  into  a  different  part?  Answer.  When  the  measle 
in  its  cystic  form  is  taken  into  the  stomach,  the  gastric 
juice  dissolves  the  cyst,  liberating  the  embryo.  It  then 
passes  into  the  intestines,  where  it  affixes  itself  and  de- 
velops into  a  mature  worm. 

How  does  the  pig  get  the  measles?  Anszvcr.  By 
eating  the  mature  segments  or  eggs  which  are  discharged 
with  the  excrement  by  persons  having  Taenia  solium,  the 
ordinary  tapeworm. 


THE    MOST    COMMON    DISEASES    OF    SWTXE  569 

Is  this  disease  called  measles  frequently  found  in  the 
hog?  Answer.  Only  occasionally  in  this  country,  but 
it  is  quite  common  in  some  of  the  European  countries. 

Is  the  full-grown  worm  found  in  the  intestines  of  the 
pig?  Answer.  Only  the  cystic  form  is  found  in  the 
pig.     The  adult  is  only  found  in  man. 

Do  pigs  have  any  species  of  the  adult  tapeworm? 
Anszvcr.  No,  but  tliey  harljor  a  great  many  other  in- 
testinal parasites. 

How  can  one  who  is  not  an  expert  detect  the  presence 
of  trichina  in  the  flesh  of  the  pig?  Answer.  Without 
the  aid  of  a  microscope  it  is  impossible. 

Does  ordinary  cooking  destroy  the  liability  to  be- 
come infested  with  trichina?  Answer.  Yes.  The 
danger  lies  in  eating  imperfectly  cooked  meat.  In  some 
of  the  Euroj)ean  countries  the  flesh  of  the  pig  is  eaten 
raw,  or  nearly  so.  which  accounts  for  the  greater  prev- 
alence of  the  disease  there  than  in  this  country. 

How  long  after  eating  the  infested  meat  before  trichi- 
nosis develops  in  man?  Ansiver.  From  eight  to  12 
days. 

Do  not  smoking  and  salting  destroy  the  worms?  An- 
szver.  They  may  have  some  influence  on  those  on  the 
r.urface  of  ordinaril}'  cured  meat.  l)Ut  the  worms  in 
the  middle  are  found  to  be  alive  and  active. 

MANGE 

Alange  is  a  parasitic  disease,  but  not  difficult  to  cure, 
and  seldom  causes  death.  It  is  caused  by  a  parasite 
which  burrows  under  the  scarf  skin,  producing  consider- 
able irritation,  destroying  it  so  that  scabs  form,  and  on 


570  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

account  of  the  great  itchiness  on  the  part  the  animal  rubs 
it,  causing  the  part  to  become  a  rough  sore.  It  is  con- 
tagious from  one  pig  to  another;  it  generally  appears 
first  on  the  thin  parts  of  the  skin  under  the  arm,  behind 
the  ear,  inside  of  the  thighs  and  upon  the  back.  In  the 
early  stage  it  resembles  eczema,  but  if  the  eyesight  is 
good  and  assisted  by  the  bright  sunliglit,  the  parasites 
may  be  seen  as  a  moving  white  speck ;  they  can  be 
readily  seen  by  using  a  small  magnifying  glass. 

Doctor  Mcintosh  says :  "This  disease  is  transmitted 
by  contagion;  that  is,  the  parasites  themselves  or  their 
eggs  must  get  on  the  skin  in  order  to  produce  the  dis- 
ease. All  unaffected  pigs  should  be  removed  from  the 
premises  where  the  diseased  ones  are  or  have  been,  and 
the  woodwork  of  the  sties  washed  with  a  strong  solution 
of  carbolic  acid.  Wash  the  pigs  all  over  with  soft  soap 
and  water,  then  rub  in  well  dry  sulphur.  When  the  sul- 
phur comes  in  contact  with  secretions  from  the  sores,  it 
forms  a  compound  poisonous  to  the  parasites.  In  a  day 
or  two  give  the  animal  another  washing,  and  rub  on  some 
more  sulphur.  A  very  sure  remedy  is  to  boil  for  one  hour 
two  ounces  of  stavesacre  seeds  in  i^^  quarts  of  water, 
and  keep  it  nearly  boiling  for  an  hour  longer ;  make  up 
the  water  to  the  quantity  originally  used.  Such  a  so- 
lution, rubbed  into  the  skin,  not  only  kills  the  parasite, 
but  its  eggs  also.  Repeat  in  a  week  if  necessary.  An- 
other is  to  steep  one  part  of  tobacco  in  20  parts  of  boil- 
ing water  for  a  few  hours,  and,  after  washing  the  pig, 
apply  a  little  of  this  to  the  affected  parts  with  a  sponge. 
If  the  surface  to  be  covered  is  large,  only  apply  it  to 
one  part  today  and  to  the  other  tomorrow.  For  instance, 


THE    MOST    COMMON    DISEASES    OF    SWINE  57I 

if  the  neck  and  the  legs  are  affected,  apply  to  the  neck 
first,  then  to  the  other  parts  the  day  following,  and  there 
will  be  no  bad  results  from  the  use  of  the  tobacco,  and  it 
is  an  excellent  remedy  when  carefully  used." 

Some  very  excellent  advice  along  this  line,  the  out- 
growth of  practical  experience,  is  written  out  by  James 
Atkinson,  thus  :  "Mange,  or  scurviness  (the  latter  being 
simply  the  resulting  product  of  the  mange  organism)  is 
an  enemy  of  thrift  and  growth,  and  one  of  the  best  and 
most  up-to-date  ways  that  we  know  to  waste  feed  is  to 
shovel  it  into  a  bunch  of  mangy  or  scurvy  hogs.  As  a 
rule,  they  spend  half  their  time  scratching  and  the  rest  of 
the  time  thinking  about  it. 

/  "It  is  one  ailment,  however,   for  which  there  is  an 

absolute  specific,  and  that  is  a  good  coal  tar  dip.     If  we 

/had  a  bunch  of  mangy  hogs  on  hand  and  did  not  have 

j  access  to  a  dipping  tank  we  would  order  a  spray  pump — 

one  that  could  be  used  for  spraying  the  orchards  after- 

ward,  if  necessary.     Round  the  pigs  into  a  shed,  mix 

up  the  dip  according  to  directions  and  turn  the  pump 

loose.     This  will  literally  saturate  the  hogs  as  well  as 

their  bedding.     If  it  is  at  all  cold  keep  them  in  the  shed 

for  a  few  hours  after  they  are  sprayed.     The  idea  is 

simply  to  keep  the  hogs  out  of  a  draft  for  fear  they 

will  catch  cold.     If  they  are  kept  together  they  will  soon 

warm  up  after  the  application  of  the  cold  dip,  and  when 

they  are  dry  they  can  be  turned  out  without  risk.     Of 

\    course,   if  enough   dip   is  used  to  thoroughly   saturate 

\their  bedding  the  shed  should  afterward  be  cleaned  and 

fresh  bedding  put  in. 


'572  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

"It  may  require  the  second  application  of  dip  to  abso- 
lutely free  them  of  scurf,  though  one  good  one  with  a 
dip  used  a  little  strong  will  generally  do  the  work.  Some 
of  the  dip  companies  sell  at  a  reasonable  price  a  small 
compressed  air  pump,  which  is  exceedingly  handy,  and 
one  should  be  found  on  every  farm.  A  man  can  throw 
one  of  these  over  his  shoulder  and  pass  through  a  bunch 
of  hogs  or  into  the  hog  or  poultry  quarters  and  disinfect 
every  crevice.  On  a  big  bunch  of  hogs  it  would  not  be 
a  difficult  matter  to  save  the  price  of  a  good  spraying 
outfit  and  a  five-gallon  can  of  dip  in  the  value  of  the 
feed  in  a  single  week.  A  good  dip  comes  nearer  per- 
forming miracles  on  the  skin  of  an  unhealthy  hog  than 
anything  else  that  we  are  familiar  with.  Five  or  ten 
dollars'  worth  of  good  dip  is  the  best  investment  that  the 
average  swine  breeder  can  make,  because  these  dips  have 
powerful  disinfecting  qualities  without  being  skin  irri- 
tants." 

SCOURS 

Various  homely  farm  remedies  are  utilized  for  scours 
in  pigs,  among  them  being  black  walnut  bark  soaked  in 
the  swill  barrel  ten  or  15  hours,  or  tea  from  white  oak 
bark,  made  strong  and  given  to  the  sows  (a  pint  of  it, 
more  or  less)  once  or  twice  a  day  in  their  slop.  Sulphur 
mixed  in  the  slop  is  often  recommended,  in  doses  of  a 
tablespoonful  each  day  for  three  or  four  days  to  each 
sow.  It  may  be  necessary  to  repeat  this  treatment  after 
three  or  four  days.  The  sows  should  be  kept  in  dry 
quarters. 


THE    MOST    COMMON    DISEASES    OF    SWINE  573 

L.  N.  Bonham  says:  "We  look  upon  scours  as  evi- 
dence of  indigestion  or  cold.  Whenever  we  find  any  de- 
rangement of  this  kind  we  at  once  try  to  find  the  cause. 
It  may  be  that  the  sow  has  been  overfed  or  her  slop  has 
been  changed,  or  she  has  found  some  impure  or  un- 
wholesome feed  the  effect  of  which  is  seen  in  the  pigs. 
\Ve  have  known  litters  to  be  put  out  of  fix  by  giving  a 
sow  a  feed  of  very  sour  buttermilk  or  stale  milk.  We 
know  a  case  where  the  pigs  were  made  sick  from  the  sow 
getting  out  of  a  clean  pen  and  grass  lot  into  a  filthy  barn- 
yard and  coming  back  to  her  pigs  covered  with  the  filth 
of  a  wallow.  We  have  known  the  disorder  to  follow  a 
change  of  pen,  causing  the  pigs  to  take  cold.  A  wet  bed 
or  pen  is  a  most  prolific  source  of  scours.  Pigs  that 
have  dry,  clean  beds  and  pens  may  be  put  out  of  condi- 
tion by  one  run  in  wet  grass  or  clover,  or  going  with 
the  sow  into  wet  places  where  they  are  chilled,  or  where 
the  sow  gets  rank  roots  or  coarse  growth  that  she  is  not 
accustomed  to.  Sudden  changes  of  weather,  or  from 
sound  to  unsound  feed^  sweet  to  sour  feed,  or  even  a 
single  overfeed,  are  common  causes  of  the  disorder. 

"After  the  pigs  are  four  to  five  weeks  old  and  have 
learned  to  eat  with  the  sow,  they  are  not  so  (Quickly  in- 
fluenced by  the  condition  of  the  sow.  If  one  can  feed 
a  sow  so  regularly  as  to  secure  her  against  the  accidents 
of  weather  and  neglect  of  attendants  he  can  hope  to 
avoid  disorders  of  bowels  in  the  young  pigs.  If  de- 
rangement arises  from  improper  feeding  it  must  be  cured 
by  correcting  the  condition  of  the  sow  by  change  of  feed. 
Usually  the  condition  of  the  sow  will  come  right  by  care 
to  ha\'e  her  food  sound  and  given  regularly  in  moderate 


574  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

quantity.  Parched  corn  and  scalded  milk  for  one  or 
two  feeds  will  usually  correct  the  trouble  arising  from 
indigestion  or  wrong  feed.  If  the  trouble  comes  from 
damp  beds  the  cause  must  be  removed.  The  antidote  is 
dry  quarters.  Keep  them  clean  and  dry.  Let  in  the 
sunshine.  Cover  the  droppings  with  fresh  earth  or  dry 
soil,  and  clean  the  pens  often. 

"Cleanliness,  sunshine  and  sound,  wholesome  feed 
given  judiciously  will  usually  correct  such  bowel  derange- 
ments better  than  drugs.  Charcoal  is  a  corrective.  Too 
many  go  to  the  opposite  extreme  and  change  looseness  to 
constipation,  which  is  only  a  change  from  one  bad  con- 
dition to  another.  The  trouble  is  hard  to  manage  in 
cloudy,  rainy  weather,  especially  where  the  shelter  is 
poor  and  the  lots  are  muddy  and  uncomfortable." 

One  good  authority  says :  "To  each  pig  two  or  three 
weeks  old  give  a  teaspoon ful  each  of  castor  oil  and 
glycerin  at  a  dose.  After  the  physic  operates,  if  the 
scours  still  continue,  give  five  drops  each  of  tincture  of 
opium  and  spirits  of  camphor  in  a  dessertspoonful  of 
water  at  a  dose  every  four  hours  until  cured.  Be  careful 
about  feeding  too  rich  food  to  the  sows,  or  feeding 
soured  swill  or  slop.  Keep  the  pens  clean  and  dry,  and  see 
that  sows  and  pigs  get  plenty  of  fresh  air  and  sunshine, 
plenty  of  exercise  and  plenty  of  good,  fresh  water." 

A.  J.  Lovejoy  says  a  never-failing  remedy  for  white 
scours  in  young  pigs  is  to  reduce  the  richness  of  the  sow's 
feed  and  give  her  in  slop  twice  a  day  a  tablespoonful  of 
sulphur  for  two  days. 


THE    MOST    COMMON    DISEASES    OF    SWINE  575 

CONSTIPATION 

This  occurs  most  frequently  in  winter.  It  may  be  re- 
lieved with  salts  or  bran  mashes  containing  sulphur. 
Warm  soapsuds  used  as  an  injection  is  useful,  and  soft 
soap  given  in  the  feed  will  often  afford  relief.  Such 
foods  as  pumpkins,  apples  or  roots  are  \-ery  helpful  as 
correctives,  and  usually  will  be  sufficient  to  bring  about 
a  normal  condition. 

DEATHS  PROM  EATING  COCKLEBURS 

Every  year  there  are  reports  of  losses  of  swine 
"poisoned"  by  eating  cockleburs  or  cocklebur  plants. 
These  reports  almost  invariably  describe  the  losses  as 
occurring  at  times  when  the  hogs  have  access  to  ground 
where  young  cocklebur  plants  have  made  a  growth  of  but 
2  or  3  inches.  The  hogs  eat  these  plants  and  root  up  and 
eat  some  of  the  burs  from  which  they  are  growing,  with 
sometimes,  but  not  always,  fatal  results.  It  appears 
that  such  slight  investigations  as  have  been  made,  so  far, 
have  not  definitely  demonstrated  whether  the  hogs  are 
poisoned  by  some  property  in  tlie  young  plant,  or  in  the 
meat  of  the  bur,  or  wliethcr  it  is  taking  the  bur,  or  rather 
its  rough  and  irritating  hull,  into  the  stomach,  that  does 
the  harm.  The  exact  nature  of  the  ailment,  or  its  cure, 
are  not  known ;  hence  immunity  is  only  assured  by  keep- 
ing swine  off  ground  infested  with  cockleburs.  In  send- 
ing up  its  shoot  the  hull  or  outer,  rough  coating  of  the 
bur  is  carried  on  top  of  the  young  plant,  and  in  graz- 
ing on  the  plants,  swine  are  liable  to  swallow  the  coat- 
ings, some  of  which  may  find  lodgment  in  the  throat. 


576  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

It  is  said  that  an  investigation  made  by  a  veterinarian 
at  the  Indiana  experiment  station  convinced  him  that 
lodging-  of  the  hulls  in  the  throat  or  stomach,  with  re- 
sultant irritation,  choking,  ulceration  and  perhaps  blood 
poisoning  is  what  does  the  mischief.  Pigs  fed  the  plants 
(li\'ested  of  bur  hulls  showed  no  ill  effects. 

CANKER  SORE  MOUTH  IN  YOUNG  PIGS 

Large  water  blisters  appear  about  the  mouth  and 
snout,  rapidly  succeeded  by  much  heat  and  swelling  of 
the  parts,  and  later  thick  brown  scabs  appear  which  open 
into  deep  cracks.  These  scabs  extend  over  the  face, 
head,  and  even  to  the  body  and  limbs,  the  joints  of  the 
latter  becoming  much  swollen  and  inflamed.  Ulcers 
often  form  about  the  snout  and  jaws,  eating  the  flesh 
from  the  bone.  There  is  dullness  and  a  disinclination  to 
move,  and  often  to  suck  the  young  pigs.  The  treat- 
ment, which  should  be  prompt  and  thorough,  is  a  solu- 
tion of  permanganate  of  potash,  using  one  ounce  of  the 
crystals  dissoh-ed  in  a  gallon  of  water  in  a  common  pail. 
In  extreme  cases,  use  two  ounces  to  a  gallon  of  water. 
The  young  pigs  should  be  dipped  head  foremost  into  the 
solution  and  kept  there  for  a  brief  time.  Repeat  this 
two  or  three  times,  giving  the  pig  time  to  catch  its 
breath  in  the  intermissions.  This  treatment  continued 
for  three  or  four  days  will  usually  efifect  a  cure,  if  the 
disease  is  not  of  too  long  standing.  Having  successive 
litters  of  pigs  farrowed  in  the  same  pen  should  be 
avoided  where  this  disease  has  been  prevalent,  until  the 
pen  has  been  thoroughly  disinfected. 


THE    MOST    COMMON    DISEASES    OF    SWINE  577 

A  coiTespondent  of  Hoard's  Dairyman  gives  the  fol- 
lowing experience;  "I  had  25  good  pigs  affected  with 
canker  sore  mouth  and  nose ;  one  litter  had  scabs  ex- 
tending over  most  of  the  head  and  some  of  these  had 
scabs  on  their  ears.  I  used  an  ounce  of  permanganate  of 
potash  dissolved  in  ijA  gallons  of  water,  and  I  thor- 
oughly dipped  the  head  of  each  pig  about  twice,  a  few 
seconds  each  time,  just  so  as  to  cover  the  affected  por- 
tion. I  used  an  ordinary  20-pound  lard  bucket.  Later 
I  put  the  dipped  pigs  in  a  small  pen  to  dry  for  an  hour. 
I  then  greased  the  affected  parts  with  the  ordinary  veteri- 
nary vaseline  and  carbolic  acid  made  into  a  salve  by 
melting.  Three  applications  completely  cured  my  pigs 
without  any  loss  or  injury.  I  consider  the  malady  very 
easily  cured  if  treated  in  time.  If  you  are  a  close  ob- 
server you  will  notice  that  in  the  beginning  the  part  just 
back  of  the  nose  commences  to  wrinkle.  Then  is  the 
time  to  apply  the  remedy,  and  two  applications  will  cure. 
It  is  inexpensive  and  easily  applied.  The  permanganate 
of  potash  destroys  the  parasite,  and  the  vaseline  and  car- 
bolic acid  heal  the  sores." 

BLACK  TEETH 

A  great  deal  has  been  said  and  written  on  this  sub- 
ject, but  the  majority  of  the  veterinary  profession  now 
consider  black  teeth  as  nothing  serious.  Doctor  Mcintosh 
has  studied  l)lack  teetli,  and  never  been  able  to  connect 
them  with  any  of  the  diseases  affecting  pigs,  and  in  the 
majority  of  cases  it  seems  to  him  they  do  no  harm. 
*T   have   no  doubt,    howe\er,   that   pigs   suffer  as   well 


578  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

as  Other  animals  from  toothache,  but  I  have  never  seen 
any  cases  where  I  could  detect  it.  I  am  not  able  to 
account  for  the  cause  of  black  teeth  unless  it  be  natural 
for  some  hogs  to  have  them.  If  it  should  be  discovered 
that  a  hog-  has  a  decayed  tooth  and  is  apparently  suffer- 
ing from  it,  by  all  means  ha\-e  it  removed,  which  can 
easily  be  done  with  a  pair  of  wolf  teeth  forceps.  I  can 
advise  swine  breeders  not  to  trouble  themselves  if  they 
should  notice  some  of  their  pigs  having  discolored  teeth." 

THUMPS 

For  thumps  this  has  been  recommended :  "Drive  the 
pigs  out  of  their  beds  into  the  sunshine,  and  see  that 
they  take  exercise  every  day.  Decrease  the  sow's  milk- 
producing  food  till  the  pigs  are  older.  Be  sure  they 
have  a  clean  bed  and  plenty  of  exercise  and  they  will  not 
be  troubled  with  thumps  or  sore  tails.  Thumps  in  larger 
pigs  is  sometimes  caused  from  an  affection  of  the  lungs, 
but  never  in  a  pig  three  weeks  old.  Early  pigs  are  more 
apt  to  have  thumps  than  later  ones,  as  in  cold  weather 
they  stay  close  to  tlie  nest."  Doctor  Mcintosh  says 
thumps  is  palpitation  of  the  heart  and  its  most  frequent 
cause  is  a  morbid  condition  of  the  system  from  feeding 


QUINSY 

This  is  characterized  by  sore  throat  and  the  appear- 
ance of  a  swelling  on  the  sides  of  the  neck  at  the  angle 
of  the  lower  jaw  and  sometimes  extending  between  the 
wings  of  the  jaw.     \\'hen  the  swelling  is  large  it  presses 


THE    MOST    COM  MUX    DISEASES    OF    SWIXE  579 

on  the  upper  part  of  the  windpipe,  causing  difticnlt 
hreathing-,  and  in  some  cases  sutfocation.  It  is  a  local 
disease  common  to  the  pig  and  usually  yields  to  treat- 
ment. Give  the  pig  all  the  cold  water  it  will  drink. 
P\it  one-half  dram  of  chloride  of  ammonia  in  one-half 
|)int  of  water,  and  if  the  animal  is  thirsty  and  will  drink 
water,  put  it  in  the  drinking  water;  if  not  give  it  fmni 
a  hottle  three  times  a  day.  Bathe  the  neck  with  hot 
water  and  rub  on  camphorated  liniment.  If  the  breath- 
ing is  difficult  give  three  drops  of  the  fluid  extract  of 
belladonna  and  ten  grains  of  chlorate  of  potassium 
three  times  a  day. 

HOGS  "BREAKING  DOWN" 

James  Atkinson  :  "There  are  a  number  of  ailments 
that  might  result  in  stilfening  the  hind  quarters  of  hogs. 
It  frequently  happens  that  too  heavy  feeding  of  corn 
causes  a  weakening  of  the  bones,  and  the  'animals  break 
down.'  This  is  apt  to  occur  where  they  are  not  supplied 
much  pasture,  or  grains  or  feeds  other  than  corn.  If 
the  ailment  is  due  to  corn,  use  such  supplementary  feeds 
as  shorts,  bran  or  linseed  oil  meal.  Tankage  is  also  an 
excellent  food  in  cases  of  this  kind,  as  it  is  a  most  satis- 
factory flesh  and  bone  builder.  Stiffness  may  be  due  to 
rheumatism.  This,  in  our  opinion,  is  the  cause  of  a  good 
deal  of  trouble  among  hogs.  Sleeping  in  damp  quarters 
is  a  cause  of  this  ailment.  We  have  known  instances 
where  it  resulted  when  hogs  were  compelled  to  sleep  on 
drafty  floors.  The  hog  can  stand  some  hardship,  but 
nothing  will  throw  him  out  of  condition  quicker  than 


580  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 

air  drafts  that  circulate  through  his  sleeping  quarters. 
As  the  cold  nights  approach  generous  bedding  will  pre- 
vent them  from  piling  up  and  they  will  consequently  do 
much  better  than  if  compelled  to  sleep  on  the  bare  floor 
or  in  damp  quarters.  If  the  food  seems  to  be  responsi- 
ble for  the  trouble,  it  might  be  necessary  to  do  a  little 
drugging  in  order  to  more  quickly  bring  them  to  their 
normal  condition.  We  have  found  that  a  teaspoonful  of 
sulphur  mixed  with  the  food  about  three  times  a  week 
will  do  more  for  a  hog  out  of  condition  than  anything 
else.  If  this  is  used,  however,  they  must  have  good, 
dry  quarters,  otherwise  there  is  danger  of  their  taking 
cold,  and  this  may  result  in  lung  fever.  If  charcoal  is 
not  available,  supplying  them  with  some  ordinary  coal 
slack  ser\es  a  good  purpose.  It  should  be  given  in  small 
quantities  at  first,  because  hogs  in  this  condition  are  us- 
ually ra''enous  for  mineral  matter,  and  they  may  eat  too 
much  if  they  have  free  access  to  it." 

GARGET — INFLA>IED  UDDER 

Inflammation  of  the  udder  commonly  occurs  in  hea\'y 
milkers,  and  is  caused  by  all  of  the  milk  not  being  re- 
moved, says  Craig.  Frequently  it  occurs  as  a  result  of 
the  milk  accumulating  in  the  udder  when  the  sow  has 
lost  a  part  of  her  litter.  Other  causes  are  obstructed 
teats,  injuries  to  the  glandular  tissue,  and  infection  from 
germs.  Congestion  and  inflammation  of  the  udder 
sometimes  follow  a  difficult  birth.  Milking  the  sow  two 
or  three  times  a  day  will  usually  relieve  its  congested 
condition.     Epsom  salts  should  be  given  every  other  day, 


THE    MOST    COMMON    DISEASES    OF    SWINE  58 1 

and  a  sloppy  diet  fed.  In  case  the  udder  Ijeconics  in- 
flamed it  should  be  kneaded  gently  with  th2  fingers  and 
an  ointment  applied  daily,  made  as  follows:  Extract  of 
belladonna  and  gum  camphor  one  dram  of  each,  and 
vaseline  three  ounces.  Hot  fomentations  may  also  be 
used.  Sore  teats  should  be  bathed  daily  with  one  part 
zinc  sulphate,  three-fourths  part  lead  acetate,  and  30 
parts  water  until  healed. 

SUNSTROKE 

Fat  hogs  driven,  or  even  when  hauled  to  market,  in 
hot  weather  are  very  susceptible  to  the  heat,  and  always 
under  such  circumstances  measures  should  be  taken,  as 
well  as  in  the  yards  and  pastures,  to  afford  protection 
which  will  ward  off  sunstroke.  Hogs  being  shipped  to 
market  in  hot  weather  should  be  frecpiently  wetted 
with  water  to  keep  them  cool.  A  hog  suft'ering  from 
heat  or  sunstroke  should  be  moved  to  a  shady  place  and 
cool  water  poured  on  the  head  and  neck,  but  not  on  the 
rest  of  the  body. 

Prof.  John  A.  Craig  explains  why  the  hog  suc- 
cumbs so  unresistingly  when  overheated.  The  man  or 
horse  when  heated  soon  has  the  surface  of  his  body 
covered  with  perspiration,  and  the  evaporation  of  this  at 
once  l)egins  to  reduce  his  temperature.  Nature  has  made 
no  such  provision  for  the  relief  of  the  hog  when  heated 
by  exposure  to  the  sun  or  by  excessive  exercise.  This 
is  reason  enough  why  it  should  have  an  abundant  and 
convenient  water  supply,  shade,  and  a  convenient  bathing 
or  wallowing  place,  whether  on  summer  pasturage  or 
confined  in  a  lot,  and  plenty  of  the  green  food  that  is 
laxative  and  cooling. 


582  SWINE  IN  AMERICA 


PIGS   LOSING   THEIR    TAILS 

The  main  cause  of  pigs'  tails  becoming-  sore  and  fall- 
ing off  is  foul  nesting  and  sleeping  quarters.  The  surest 
protection  is  cleaning  out  all  bedding  within  three  days 
after  sows  farrow,  and  at  least  once  a  week,  or  oftener, 
thereafter.  If  the  tail  is  not  too  far  gone  when  treated, 
it  can  usuall}^  be  saved  by  greasing  thoroughly  with  lard 
containing  a  little  carbolic  acid.  If  nests  are  kept  clean 
the  danger  of  sore  tails  will  be  slight. 

DRENCHING  A   HOG 

Prof.  R.  A.  Craig  in  his  work,  "Disease  of  Swine," 
gives  the  following  practical  suggestions  relative  to 
administering  medicine  as  a  drench  : 

"Drenching  a  hog  is  not  difficult,  if  the  animal  is  easy 
to  manage  and  we  go  about  it  Cjuietly.  The  quickest 
and  easiest  way  to  drench  a  drove  of  hogs  is  to  drive 
them  into  a  small  pen,  where  they  will  have  but  little 
room  to  move  about.  To  hold  the  animal  while  drench- 
ing it,  a  noose  of  sash  cord  or  quarter-inch  rope  can  be 
placed  around  the  upper  jaw,  well  back  toward  the  angles 
of  the  lips,  and  the  medicine  thrown  into  the  back  part 
of  the  mouth  with  a  dose  syringe.  As  there  is  danger  of 
the  hog  breaking  the  syringe,  it  is  best  to  use  a  metal 
one.  Sometimes  when  the  drench  is  bulky  and  the  hog 
hard  to  hold,  it  is  necessary  to  elevate  the  head  and  raise 
the  forefeet  off  the  ground.  For  this  purpose  a  pulley 
and  rope  wire  stretcher  is  recommended.     It  should  be 


THE    MOST    CO.MMOxX    DISEASES    OF    SWIXE  5S3 

I'lLiiig-  in  tlic  most  convenient  part  of  the  pen.  and  the  ani- 
mal secured  in  the  usual  way  by  placing  a  noose  around 
the  jaw.  The  end  of  the  rope  is  thrown  over  the  hook 
in  the  lower  pulley  and  the  hog  drawn  u])  until  it  is  al- 
most off  the  floor.  It  is  best  to  wait  until  the  hog  has 
become  (juiet  and  well  under  control  before  giving  it  the 
drench,  as  there  is  some  danger  of  the  medicine  getting 
into  the  air  passages  and  doing  harm." 


Appendix 


NUMBERS   AND    VALUES   FOR   EACH   OP   32   YEARS 


Year. 

Number. 

PHce 
per 
head. 

Total 
Farm 
value. 

1877 

1878 

28,077,100 
32,262,500 
34,766,100 
34.034,100 
36,247.683 
44,122,200 
43,270,086 
44,200,893 
45,142.657 
46,092,043 
44,612,836 
44,346,525 
50.301,592 
51,602,780 
50,625,106 
52,398,019 
46,094,807 
45,206,498 
44,165,716 
42,842,759 
40,600,276 
39,759,993 
38,651,631 
37,079,356 
56,982,142 
48,698,890 
46.922,624 
47  009.367 
47,320,511 
52,102,847 
54,794,439 
56,084,000 

$5.66 
4.85 
3.18 
4.28 
4.70 
5.97 
6.75 
5.57 
5.02 
4.26 
4.48 
4.98 
5.79 
4.72 
4.15 
4.60 
6.41 
5.98 
4.97 
4.35 
4.10 
4.39 
4.40 
5.00 
6.20 
7.03 
7.78 
6.15 
5.99 
6.18 
7.62 
6.05 

$158,873,410 

156  577  228 

1879 

110  507  788 

1880 

145  781  515 

1881 

1883 

291  951  221 

1884 

246  301  139 

1885 

196,569,894 
200  043  291 

1887 

1888 

220,811,082 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

189S 

243,418,336 
210.193,923 
241,031,415 
295,426,492 
270,384,626 
219  501  267 

1896 

1897 

186,529,745 
166,272,770 
174,351,409 
170,109,743 
185,472,321 
353,012,143 
342,120,780 
364,973,688 
289,224,627 
283,254,978 
321,802,571 
417,791,321 

1899 

1900 

1901 

1903 

1904 

1906 

1907 

1908 

339,030,000 

LIVE   WEIGHTS  AND  LARD  AVERAGES 

The  average  live  weight  of  hogs  packed  in  the  West  in 
the  winter  seasons  (ending  March  i),  and  their  average 
yield  of  lard,  in  pounds,  for  each  of  the  32  years  named, 
as  compiled  by  the  Cincinnati  Price  Cnrrent,  are  here 
shown : 

585 


;86 


SWINE  IN  AMERICA 


Year.                           Weight.  Lard. 

1879 271.42  39.40 

1880 266.17  36.32 

1881 259.63  35.65 

1882 262.70  36.44 

1883 267.02  35.43 

1884 251.44  33.25 

1885 266.51  36.02 

1886 258.98  35.22 

1887 251.31  33.54 

1888 242.30  31.06 

1889 263.46  34.76 

1890 250.92  36.37 

1891 239.75  33.45 

1892 247.64  34.69 

1893 227.73  31.60 


Year.  Weight. 

1894.- 248.20 

1895 232.73 

1896 240.71 

1897 244.80 

1898 235.35 

1899 232.65 

1900 235.67 

1901 230.31 

1902 206.38 

1903 224.05 

1904 223.46 

1905 221.73 

1906 222.27 

1907 222.88 

1908 221.40 


Lartl, 

3(). 

I)/' 

33 

(>">. 

35 

53 

36 

94 

34 

7.> 

35 

53 

3  ) 

,9/ 

34 

U. 

31 

Ml 

31 

.  92 

The  averag'e  li\-e  Aveig-ht  of  hogs  and  }'iel(l  of  lard 
from  hog.s  packed  in  tlie  W'e.^^t  in  the  .suinnier  .season 
(ending-  Novemljer  i)  for  [y  years  are  gi\en  1)\-  llie 
same  authority  as  below  : 


Year.  WeiRlit.  Lard. 

1891 221.76  31, 39 

1892 222.42  31.23 

1893 240.41  34.04 

1894 229,98  33,05 

1895 226,52  33,10 

1896 240,76  40,61 

1897 239,12  36.41 

1898 231,36  33,24 

1899 231.46  35.66 


Year.  Weight. 

1900 228.74 

1901 219.48 

1902 223.11 

1903 231.03 

1904 222,09 

1905 221,72 

1906 223,14 

1907 230,24 


T„i 

rd. 

34 

12 

31 

.81 

31 

34 

3' 

S.S 

3.? 

39 

33 

25 

32 

1,S 

32 

,89 

YEARLY    COST    OF    HOGS 


The  average  cost  per  hundred  pounds  of  liogs  ahve. 
packed  in  the  West  in  the  summer  and  \vinter  seasons. 
and  tlie  yearly  average  of  cost  for  each  of  24  years  are 
tabulated  by  the  Price  Current  as  follows : 


Year, 

Sum. 

Win, 

Year 

Year, 

Svim. 

Win, 

Y,-nr 

1884-85 

...$5,35 

$4.29 

$4,70 

1896-97 

. , ,$3.30 

$3  ,  30 

S3  .  3(1 

1885-86 

. ..  3,90 

3,66 

3.75 

1897-98 

. ,.  3,70 

3,53 

3  u\ 

1886-87 

...  4,10 

4,19 

4.15 

1898-99 

...  3.85 

3,52 

3.71 

1887-88 

...  4,75 

5,04 

4.90 

1899-00 

. ..  4.00 

4,29 

4.  11 

1888-89 

...  5 , 58 

4,99 

5,26 

1900-01 

...  5,12 

5.02 

5.07 

1889-90 

. ..  4,30 

3,66 

3,98 

1901-02 

.  ..  5.92 

5.97 

5.94 

1890-91 

...  3,91 

3,54 

3.  74 

1902-03 

...  7 . 06 

6,44 

6,81 

1891-92 

...  4,48 

3.91 

4,16 

1903-04 

. , .  6  11 

4,74 

5  .  54 

1892-9'' 

...  5,03 

6,54 

5  .  60 

1904-05 

.  ,  .  5  16 

4,67 

4  95 

1893-94 

...  6,33 

5.26 

5.  87 

1905-06 

...  5,37 

5,27 

5.33 

1894-95 

...  4,98 

4,28 

4  67 

1906-07. 

, , .  6  33 

6,46 

6.38 

1895-96 

...  4.41 

3.68 

4.07 

1907-08 

. . .  6.20 

4.47 

5,52 

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587 


INDEX 


A 

PAGF. 

Abortion    138 

Adams  county,  large  litters  in.  .  .  .  145 

Age,  best  for  bacon  hog 3_'9 

Alabama,   chufas    fed    in 259 

Cottonseed  metal  in 382 

I'ork  production  in 295 

Rice  fed  in 385 

Sweet  potatoes  fed  in 254 

X'alues 7 

Alfalfa  and  tankage  compared....  391 

Chapter  on    190 

Chaff  boiled   305 

Ted  in   Colorado 354 

Hay   230 

Pasture   161,  225,  354 

Sui)plemental  feed   340 

Time  to  cut 220 

\'ersus  dry  lot 209 

With  barley 353 

With   grain    210 

Alexander,  Dr.,  A.   S.,  on  diseases  535 

On   pedigree    90 

Allen,   .\.    B 47 

.\merican  bacon  type 331 

.Snalysis  of  carcass 302 

.\nalyses  of  carcass,   Oiv.  of  Chem- 
istry      303 

Stock  feeds 367 

Wheat  milk  products 342 

Ancestors,  importance  of  good...  91 

Animals,  influence  of  pure  breed.  11 

Anthrax 543 

Appetite  important   316 

.\rkansas,   chufas  fed  in 260 

Cottonseed  meal   in 379-382 

Large  litters  in 144 

X'alues    7 

.\rmour,  P.   D.,  Jr.,  feeding  test..  338 

On  scalding 509 

Packing  Co.,  on  wheat  feeding.  338 

Preferences 26 

.\rtichokes    242-255 

l"or  pasture 168 

Assimilation  important    316 

.\tkinson    on   breakdown 579 

On  exercise 136 

On  hogging  off  corn 287 

On  mange    571 

On  slop  feeding 418 


B 

PACE 

Bacon    328 

Barley  fed    3:^2 

Canadian  industry 2i 

Danisli,   barley   fed 351 

Kxported    2 

I'rom  barley    350 

From  frozen  wheat 366 

l"rom   gluten    373 

l'"rom  peas 357 

I'rom    roots    24  7 

I'rom  wheat   feeding 338 

Hog  described    329 

Hog,  Neb.  editor  on 23 

Hogs 22 

Hogs  in  .\merica 331 

Salting    519 

Soft   351 

Type  unpopular  in  corn  belt...      25 
Types,   English  and  .\merican..    331 

Barber  county,  molasses  in 405 

Barker,  on  large  litters 144 

On  pasture 172 

Barley   350 

Compared  with  corn 351 

Compared  with  rye 347 

Rich    in    protein 351 

Supplemental  feed   340 

With   alfalfa    211-213 

With  beet  pulp 401-403 

Barnes,  on   large  litters 144 

Barrel   for  young  pigs 127 

Barrows,   in    Chicago 326 

Barton  country,  large  litters  in...    143 

Bassett  on  hogging  off  corn 285 

Bean  hulls  367 

Beds,   importance   of 317 

Beet  by-products   400 

Beets  in  corn  belt 249 

In  favor   238 

Belted  hogs 55 

Bennett,  Thos 52 

Bennett,  on  rye  pasture 172 

Berkshire  and  Poland-China  colors     41 

Barley  fed   352 

Color    49 

County,  large  litters  in 143 

Crosses   527 

I'ecding  experiments 303 


590 


SWINE    IN    AMERICA 


PAGE 

Berkshire  and    Poland-China,    "fe- 
ver"         48 

High-priced 100 

History   47 

Influence   10 

Influence  on  \'ictoria S" 

Large  litter 144 

Points    49 

Popularity 35 

At  fairs 30 

Classified 34 

Fed  rice   383 

Fed  soy  meal 344 

Inbreeding   77 

Indiana  census    31 

Influence  on  Poland-Chinas 39 

In  South   294 

Kafir-corn  meal   344 

On  alfalfa 219 

Preferred   28 

Slop  feeding 418 

Taken  to  Ohio 40 

P>ermuda  grass  for  pasture 168 

P.est  on  molasses 405 

I'.lood,  dried   386,  399 

Flour    399 

Tells 91 

Blue  grass  for  pasture 169 

Boar,  feeding 96 

Importance  of  good 79 

Kept  alone   93 

Personal  choice  of 87 

Precautions  in  buying 89 

Prize   winning    89 

Selection,   Bonham  on 99 

Selection,   Breeders'   Gazette  on     99 

Selection,   Gentry   on 99 

Selection,  Lovejoy  on 100 

Selection,   Wallace   on 99 

Summary  of  selection  and  man- 
agement       104 

Time  to  purchase 89 

Training   94 

When  to  select 86 

Market,  defined   333 

Bone    386 

Fed  in  Nebraska 400 

Ground   399 

Bonham,  L.   M.,  on  boar  selection     99 

On  hotel   refuse 421 

On  scars 593 

On  stubble  pasture 179 

Boone   County,   large  litters   in...    144 

Bran  and  corn  with  gluten 372 

Rice   385 

Rye  feeding 350 

Wheat  feeding 341 


PAGE 

Brayton,  on  root  feeding 250 

Breakdown    579 

Breed,  "best" 18 

Characteristics    IS 

Choosing 1 M 

Preference  for   26 

Vs.   quality    27 

Vs.  type   19 

Breeder,  common  sense 13 

Breeders'  Gazette  on  barren  sows   137 

On  boar  selection 99 

On  hog  barns 449 

On  impotency    97 

On  oat  and  wheat  feeding 347 

Breeder's  qualifications    16 

Breeding    08 

Bad  tendencies  in 72 

Business   15 

Crate   147 

Eff'ect   on  docility 13 

Eff'ect  on  stricture 14 

^False  economy  in 11 

Faulty   71 

For  utility    21 

I'rom  immature  animals 73 

History  of 32 

In  Illinois 73 

Influence  on  domestication 20 

Influence,  shown  in  value 4 

Intelligence   in    13 

Importance  of  good 15 

Methods  not   rigid 13 

Our  bad  traits 17 

Too  refined 41 

Breeds  at  fairs 30 

Choice  of   25 

Classified   34 

Fecundity  of   145 

Influence  of  i)ure 25 

Non-fattening    22 

Why  popular 25 

Brentnall,  John   47 

Brewers'  grains  with  molasses.  .  .  .    405 

Bricks  heated  for  pigs 127 

Britain   33 

Buck,   on   large   litters 144 

Buckwheat    363 

.\nd  wheat  compared 363 

Fed  with  wheat 363 

Buildings 448 

Cost    459 

Burkett,  on  pumpkin  feeding 261 

Burlington   County  hogs 44 

Butcher  hogs 326 

Butchering 508 

Butler  County,  Ohio 39 

Alfalfa  in   219 


INDEX 


591 


PAGR 

Butler  County,  Ohio,  hogs 40 

Stubble   pasture   in 179 

I'.ultennilk,  discussed 439 

l^cononiy  of    395 

I'eeding    427 

In  Michigan    430 

I'.uying,  wisdom  in 86 

livfield  cross 40 

Hogs 39 

c 

Calls,  useful  317 

Camper,  A.  C,  on  fasting 320 

Canada,  artichokes  feil  in 258 

r.arley  feeding  in 330,  351 

r.iickwheat   fed  in 363 

I'ii-lfl  peas  in 356 

I'rnzen  wheat  fed  in 365 

( Iluten  used  in 373 

Milk  fed  in 434 

Number  of  hogs  in 1 

Oats  fed  in 346 

Potatoes  fed  in 253 

Pumpkins  fed  in 261 

Roots  used  in 240 

Wheat   feeding  in 340 

Canadian  feeding  records 306 

Carbohydrate,   meaning  of 301 

Carlylc,   on   hardness 527 

On  ra|)e  feeding 173 

Carnn'cliael,  on  tankage 397 

Caipenter,  on  large  litters 143 

Carrot   230 

Cassava    259 

Castration    504 

Influence  on  values 7 

Cattle,  following  after 277 

Keeping  hogs  from 4»<9 

Cedar  County,  self-feeders  in....    324 

Census.  1879   5 

1908    2 

Indiana  swine   31 

Charcoal    367 

Chemical  composition  of  carcass..    303 

Cheshire   58 

Cheshires  at  fairs 30 

Classified    34 

Large  litters  in 143 

Scale  of  points 60 

Weight 59 

Chester,  scale  of  points 38 

Weights   37 

Chester  White,  history 35 

.\t  fairs   30 

Classified   34 

I'ceding  e.Kperiments 303 


PAGE 

Chester  White,  Indiana  census...      31 

Influence  on  Victoria 57 

Large  litter  of 145 

Popularity    35 

Slop  feeding 418 

Chicago,  butcher  hogs  in 326 

Greatest  market 5 

Market  classification    325 

Percentage  bacon  hogs  in 331 

Percentage  light   hogs  in...  328,   331 
Percentage  of  packing  hogs....    328 

Percentage  of  pigs  in 333 

Chinas,  big   40 

Curing    521 

Chinese  boars'  influence 33 

Cholera    536 

Germs 537 

How  spread   538 

Symptoms  of    540 

Immunizing  against    546 

Treatment  of   546 

Cholera  and  Tuberculosis 542 

Cholera,  preventing 544-546 

Chufas   259 

Fed  in  South  Carolina 258 

l-'or  pasture   168 

To  supplement  corn 297 

Cincinnati,   light  hog  market 6 

Classes,   market    3^5 

Clay,  General,  CM 44 

Clay,  J.   B 44 

Cleanliness,  importance  of 315-444 

Unfavorable  to  lice 499 

Clover  pasture    161 

Supplemental  feed 340 

Coal,  hogs  eat 321 

Coarseness,   avoid    82 

Cockle   burs    fatal 575 

Coffee  County',   alfalfa  in 223 

Columbiana  County,  large  litters  in    144 

Color   of   Berkshires 49 

Of  Durocs 45 

Preferences    26 

Tamworth    53 

Colorado,   alfalfa  in 193 

Barley   fed   in 353 

Beet  by-products  in 401 

Peas   in    356 

Squashes  fed  in 263 

Colors,  Berkshire  and  Poland-China    41 

Of  hogs   10-34 

Comfort,   importance  of 317 

Composition   of  carcasses 302,   303 

Concrete   floors    473 

Confinement    in    yards 312 

Conformation,  indicates  constitution   71 
Connecticut,   large  litters  in 144 


592 


SWIXE    IN    AMERICA 


PACE 

Connecticut,  values   7,       8 

Constipation    575 

Constitution,   inbreeding  weakens.      76 

Importance   of    85 

Primary  aim 74 

Cooking  feed  unprofitable 304 

Copenhagen,  feeding  in 347 

Roots    fed   in J51 

Rye  feeding  in 350 

Corn   and   bran   with   gluten 372 

Corn,  chapter  on 365 

Cost  in   making  pork 269 

Deficient    in   protein 358 

Feeding  new   287 

Frosted   276 

Green   stalks    289 

Hogging   off    280 

Influence   on   hog   growing 10 

Kafir    343 

Offal    367 

Quantity  required   269 

Soft     .  .' 276 

Stalks,  ground  with  molasses...    405 
Supplements  and  substitutes....    290 

\'s.    wheat   for   hogs 338 

With  alfalfa   213 

With  linseed  meal 375 

With  offal   387 

Corn  meal  and  gluten  compared..   371 

And  milk 432 

dains  on 360 

Impairs  appetite 360 

Impairs   growth    360 

Impairs  digestion 360 

Makes  good  pork 362 

Poor  pork  producer 359 

Saved   389 

Wet  or  dry 307 

With  milk   428 

With   tankage    390 

Corn-on-cob  meal    273 

Cornell  on  dairy  by-products 431 

Gluten  used  at 372 

Molasses  fed  at 403 

On  swill  feeding 420 

Roots  used  at 240 

Cost,  average,   to  packers 5 

Of  hogs 586 

Per  100  pounds 9 

Cottonseed  cake    374 

Meal   378 

Cottrell,   H.   M 53 

Prof.  H.  M.,  on  barley 353 

Prof.  H.  M.,  on  wheat  feeding.    340 

Country  Gentleman,  on  rye  pasture   348 

Cownie,  ou  feeding  new  corn....    288 

On  quality  of  corn 270 


PAGE 

Cownie,  on  young  pigs 129 

Cowpeas   176 

For   pasture    168 

To  supplement  corn 296 

Craig,   on   abortion 138 

On  drenching 582 

On  inflamed  udder 580 

On    sunstroke    581 

Crate  breeding 147 

Crewell,   on   large   litters 144 

Crosses,    Razor-Back    14 

Crossing  influence   on   values 7 

Cudahay     27 

Cuino   63-64 

Curtis,  Col.  F.  D.,  on  \  ictorias. .  .  57 

Curing   508-515 

Custer  County,  hog  house  in 471 

Cut  s,   desirable    329 

1> 

Dairy  by-products  at   Cornell 431 

Dairying  and   pork-making 445 

Dakota,   emmer  in 362 

Farmer,   on  rape  feeding 174 

Millet   in    364 

Pork-making  and   dairying 447 

Speltz  in    362 

Dam,  personal  choice  of 87 

Davenport,    Prof.,    on    importance 

of    sire    102 

On   inbreeding   78 

Day,    Prof.    G.    E.,    on    feed    con- 
sumption      318 

Day,  on  roots 248 

Day's   output    5 

Denham,   on   milk 430 

Denmark,   barley   fed   in 351 

Experiments   with    rye   in 349 

Feeding  in    347 

Roots   fed    in 251 

Dexter,  large  litter  at 144 

Dick's    Creek    hogs 40 

Dials  on  disinfection 500 

Diesen,   on  beets 250 

Dietrich,    William,     on    buildings, 

451-453 

On    individual    houses 480 

On  markets   325 

Dinwiddie,   on  cottonseed  meal...  380 

Dipping    492 

Device    495 

Dips    405 

Disease,   losses  from 533 

Diseases    532 

Disinfection   discussed    491 

Disposition,  importance  of  good. 83-85 


INDEX 


593 


rAGU 

Distillers'   grains   with   molasses..  405 

J)istributioii  in   United   States....  3 

Division  of  chemistry  analysis 3113 

Domestication  due  to  breeding...  14 

Influence  of    33 

Doniphan  County,  fasting  in 320 

Drainage  important   314 

Drenching    582 

Duggan,   on  pork  production 295 

Duroc-Jerseys  at  fairs 30 

And  colors    45 

Classified   34 

Feeding   experiments    303 

History     43 

Indiana  census 31 

Influence   11 

Large  litter 1 43 

Points   46 

Popularity   35 

Kconomy  in  breeding,   false 11 

Kmmer 3(>2 

With  alfalfa  213 

I'ngland,  fasting  in 320 

1-nglish  bacon  type 331 

ICntomologist  discusses  lice 4')7 

Environment,  influence  of 14 

Importance  of  good 15 

Essex    58 

At  fairs   30 

Classified   34 

Fasting  in   320 

Indiana  census     31 

F.urope,  offal  fed  in 387 

Excellence,  how   to  judge 89 

Exercise,    importance   of 136 

Need  of   157 

Exhibitions,   breeds   at 30 

E.xports    2 

1-airs,    breeds    a' 30 

I'-armers'     H(Mnc    Journal     rcjuirts 

large  litters 144 

I'armers'   Voice   on   dipping 497 

I'arrowing,  assistance  at 12'' 

Feeding  after  131 

Time  for 1 20 

Fasting    31'' 

I'attening   154 

Ciluten  meal  in 372 

On  alfalfa  210 

On  molasses   403 

Fecundity    21 


P.\GE 

Fecundity,   of   breeds 145 

Feed  and  weight  tabic 311 

Feed,  calling  hogs  to 317 

Changes,    make   gradual 316 

Classes   of    301 

Consumed     in     Ontario     experi- 
ments      318 

Cooking   300 

Cooking  unprofitable   304 

Gluten    371 

Ground     306 

Influence  of    25 

Quantity  of 299 

Quantity  varies    316 

Regularly   316 

Feeders,   defined    334 

Feeding,   after   farrowing 131 

Changes  in    315 

Effects  of  wrong 308 

Experiments,   Iowa   303 

Experiments,   Utah    308 

Henry  on   300-307 

Ill-balanced 267 

Influence    on   domestication....  21 

Influence   on  values 7 

In  Wisconsin    361 

Milk,  gradual  changes   in 443 

New  methods  of 300 

Progress  in    300 

Ouantity  of  milk 444 

Swill,   Cornell   on 420 

Unwise    299 

Feeds,  adulterated  364 

Bulky    238 

Classes  of  301 

Raised  and  bought 299 

Single   or  combined 309 

Stock    367 

F'ellows,   feeds   rice  bran 386 

Fence,   jjortable    175 

Fenugreek    367 

Fields,   John,    on    cottonseed   meal  383 

I'inney   County,  alfalfa   in 192 

I'laxseed   cake    374 

Floors,  concrete   473 

I'lorida,   cassava  fed   in 260 

Sweet  potatoes  fed  in 254 

\'alues    7 

Flour  as  feed 366 

I'.lood    399 

I'ceding    366 

Waste   with  molasses 405 

I'orbes,  E.  B.,  on  corn-on-cob  meal  275 

On  linseed  meal 375 

I'owler  Packing  C 27 

1'   X,  on   pork  production 295 

Fulton,  on  curing 517 


594 


SWINE    IX    AMERICA 


PAGE 

Fuller,   Prof.   T.  C,  on  feeding...  301 

Fuller,  on  house 462 

On    portable    houses 479-487 

On  southern  pork 523 

Gains,  best   315 

Economical   373 

From  kaiir  corn   meal 344 

From   flour    367 

From  linseed  meal 37() 

From  soy  meal 344 

In  hogging  off  com 283 

In  South 297 

On  alfalfa 196 

On   Berkshires    294 

On  corn   272 

On   corn   meal 360 

On  corn  products 276 

On  cowpeas   177 

On  emmer    362 

On  middlings   360 

On  milk   428.  432,  433 

On  pasture   162 

On  pumpkins 263 

On  rape 173 

On  rice 3S5 

On  rice  by-products 383 

—  On   roots    247 

On  skim  milk 392.  438 

—  On  slop 419 

On  soiling   234 

On  sour  milk 438 

On  soy  beans 359 

On  speltz   362 

On  tankage   390.  3Q2,  394 

On  whey   -l.U,  441 

Per  hundred  pounds 318 

Garget   580 

Garnet,   Maj.  Joel 55 

Garth,   on  hog  house 467 

Gaumnitz,  on  hogging  off  corn...  283 

Gentry,   on  watering 412 

On  boar  selection 99 

N.  H.,  on  boar  feeding 96 

N.   II.,  on  inbreeding 76 

Georgeson,     Prof.     C.     C     feeds. 

kafir  corn    343 

Georgia,  number  of  hogs  in 2 

Germany,   beet   pulp   in 403 

Offal   fed  in 387 

Gillette,   on   lice 497 

Gla<lhill,  A.  T.,  on  fasting 320 

Gluten    371 

\'s.  milk   435 

Governments  defined 334 


PAGE 

Grades,  influence  of 11 

Market   325 

Grain  and  roots 242 

Damaged   366 

Feeds,  ground   337 

Grains,  burnt    363 

Frosted   365 

Graziers,  Irish   39,  57 

Grazing 169 

Great  Britain,   number  of  hogs  in  1 

Western  hogs 40 

Gregory's  Creek  hogs 40 

Grey,  on  pork  production 295 

Grisdale,  J.  H.,  on  artichoke  feed- 
ing    259 

On  pea  feeding 357 

Grizzly  pig    52 

Growth,  Prof.  Henry,  on 318 

Guinea   61,  63 

H 

Hams,  cured 327 

Curing    517 

Exported    2 

Hampshire  at  fairs 30 

Association   55 

History   55 

Indiana  census 31 

Markings 35 

Points   56 

Weights   56 

Hardiness    526 

Harris,  W.  A.,  on  boar  feeding...  96 

Hart,   on   hog  house 470 

Hatch  station,   milk  fed  at 435 

Hawes,  Siday 47 

Hay,   alfalfa    230 

Hays,  on  pasture  rotation 180 

Hendricks  County,  large  litters  in  143 

Henry,  Prof.  W.  A.,  analyzes  milk  133 

Compares  corn  and  middlings..  341 

Feeds  middlings   341 

On  average  gains 310 

On  barley  feeding 351 

On  brewers'  grains 405 

On  buttermilk  feeding 440 

On  cooking  feed BOS' 

On  dried  blood 399 

On  fattening 154 

On  feeding   300,  307 

On  feeding  kafir  corn  meal....  344' 

On  flour   366 

On  gains  318 

On  ill-balanced  feeding 267 

On  milk  feeding 444 

On  molasses 404 


INDEX 


595 


PAGE 

Henry,  I'rof.  \V.  A.,  un  oat  feeding  346 

On  pea  feeding 356 

On   rape   feeding 175 

On  root  feeding 251 

On  roots   239 

On  rye  feeding 350 

On  whey  feeding 441) 

Hens   44.S 

Hoard,  on  alfalfa 191 

Hoard's   Dairyman,   on   imlk   fii-d- 

ing   427 

On  canker   577 

Hog,  bacon,  described 329 

Butcher    326 

Common  sense   13,  18 

Dead,  defined 335 

Industry,   the    307 

Lard,  defined   335 

Light    328 

Not  a  macliine 13 

I^acking,  the   3-7 

Practical   21 

Prime   326 

Undesirable   for  bacon 330 

Wild   32,  65 

Hogging  off  corn 282 

Oflf  rye  348 

Hollenbeck,  on  large  litters 143 

Homestead,  on  exercise 136 

On  large   litters 144 

On   removing  tusks 101 

Hominy  chops    373 

Houses 448 

Cost    459 

Combination     462 

Individual    479 

Housing  important    317 

Iluddleston,  on  large  litters 145 

Hulls    365 

Humphry,  Prof.  (i.  C,  on  feeding  361 

Hydrocarbon,  meaning  of 301 

I 

Ideal  hog   19,  71 

Illinois,  alfalfa  in 233 

I'.ccts  fed  in 249 

I'.uildings  in 451,  453,  454 

Bulletin  on  markets 325 

Cowpeas  in    178 

Fasting  in   319 

Hog  bouse    465 

Hogs  with  cattle  in 278 

Inbreeding    in     77 

Individual  iiouses  in 480 

Number  of  hogs  in 2 

Koots  fed  in 250 


PAGE 

Illinois,  rye  pasture  in 172 

\alues 7,       8 

Immunizing  against  cholera 556 

Importation  influence  on  values..        7 

Inii)otency,  temporary   97 

Improvement  proportions    7 

Inbreeding   75 

I  n   Illinois    77 

In  .Missouri    76 

.Superstitions   77 

Increase  in  30  years '. .        4 

Kapid    21 

Indiana,  animal  meal  at 389 

Cockle  burs  fatal  in 576 

Feeding  in   360 

Hog  house   in 468-470 

Large  litters  in 143,   144 

Number  of  hogs  in 2 

Offal  fed  at 387 

On  water 407 

Roots  fed  in 242 

Slop  feeding  in 418 

.Soy  beans  in 357,  358 

Victorias  in    57 

Water  experiments   312 

Indianapolis 6 

Influence  of  pure  breeds 25 

Insulander,   on   molasses 403 

Iowa,  aged  sows  preferred  in....    146 

.Mfalfa  in 195,  23i 

.Vnimal  meal  at 389 

Breeder,  on  young  pigs 129 

Corn  substitutes  in 291 

Cottonseed  meal  in 382 

Farrowing  in 118 

I'eeding,  experiment  stations   .  .    303 

Feeding   rye   in 343 

Hogging  off  corn  in 284 

Lice  discussed  in 497 

Number  nf  swine  in 2 

Packing   house   stuffs 3S8 

Quality  of  corn  in 270 

Self-feeders  in   324 

Swill  feeding  in 423 

\alues   7,       8 

Watering  in   416 

Irish  Grazier   39,     40 

Ives,  on  large  litters 143 

J 

Jamison,  John   M.,  feeds  rye,  pas- 
ture      348 

On   rooting    1 86 

Javelina   65 

Jay  County,  hog  house  in 470 

Jefferson  County,  alfalfa  in 191 


596 


SWINE    IN    AMERICA 


PAGli 

JciTei'sou  County,  Chcshires 58 

Jersey  Reds,   name  given 44 

Johnson  County,  mulefoot  hogs  in  62 

Johnson,  on   large   litters 143 

Jordan,  on  feeding 133 

K 

Kafir  corn 343 

Grinding 306 

In  Kansas 358 

Meal  fed   344 

With  alfalfa  corn 193 

Kansas,  alfalfa  test  in 193 

Alfalfa  fed  in 23J 

Alfalfa  in 192,  J19,  233 

Beets  fed  in 250 

Experiments  on  shelters 317 

Farmer,  hog  house 467 

Farmer,  on  mistakes 321 

Fasting  in    320 

Feeding  kafir  corn  in 344,  345 

Hog  house  in 467 

Kafir   corn   in 193,  343 

Large  litters  in 143 

INIolasses  in   405 

Number  of   hogs  in 2 

Kansas  City,  second  big  market..  6 

Slaughtering  in    513 

Soy  beans  in 358 

Values    8 

Watering  in i...  411 

Wheat-fed   hogs  in 338 

Kay,   on  large  litters 145 

Kellam,  on  large  litters 145 

Kentucky,  cottonseed  meal  in....  382 

Large  litters  in 144 

\'alues    7 

Kidney  worm  561 

Kingan  &  Co 28 

On  scalding   510 

Kinzer,  on  alfalfa 196 

L 

Laird,   James,    on    fasting 320 

Lake  County,  Victorias  in 57 

Landers,  on  large  litters 145 

Lard  averages 9,  585 

Average  yield 5 

Compounds 2 

Exported    2 

From  wheat  and  corn  feeding.  .  338 

Hog 22 

Hog,  defined 335 

Ilog,  Neb.  editor  on 23 

Hog  still  popular 23 


PACK 

Lard,  oil 2 

Law,  Dr.,  on  molasses 404 

Lawes  &  Gilbert 302 

Lazy  farmer  markets  heaviest  hogs  317 

Legume,  pasture    161 

Lewis  County,  large  litters  in....  144 

Lice  are  blood  suckers 493 

Discussed   497 

Lincoln,  alfalfa  at 197 

Linseed  meal    374 

As  feed   360 

Economy  of   395 

\s.    milk    435 

Litters,  proportion  of  sex  in 75 

Louisiana,  values   7 

Lovejoy,  A.  J.,  on  boar  selection.  100 

On  inbreeding    77 

On  scars 574 

On  swill  feeding 422 

On  watering 412 

Lung  worms    543 

Lupton,   E.   H.,  feeds  kafir  corn..  345 

Lynchburg,   large  litters  in 145 

M 

Mackay  imports  Hampshires 55 

Mackintosh,  on  black  teeth 577 

On  mange 570 

On  parasites 556 

On  thumps    578 

Magie  hogs   40 

D.   M.,  of  Ohio 42 

Mahogany  pig    52 

Maine,  feeds  middlings 341 

Malt  sprouts  with  molasses 405 

Man,  influence  of 25 

Mange    569 

Mangel    239 

Markets,  the  great  hog 5 

Marking  pigs    158 

Maryland,  gluten  fed  in 435 

Linseed  fed  in 435 

Milk   fed   in 435 

Sweet  potatoes  fed  in 254 

IMason,   Chas.,  on  self-feeders....  324 

Massachusetts,  corn  meal  in 385 

Buttermilk  fed  in 439 

Large  litters  in 143 

Milk    fed    in 435 

Rice  meal  in 385 

Values    7,  8 

Masterpiece  77000 100 

Maturity  hastened    7 

Important    75 

Mcl'.ridc,  Wm.,  on  fasting 319 

.McCrcady,    on    large    litters 144 


597 


PAGE 

Meade  County,  large  litters  in.  .  . .  144 

Meal,  blood 399 

Bone 399 

Corn-on-cob 273 

Rice 385 

Measles    564 

Meat   from  millet 364 

Meal  and  skim  milk  compared.  .  391 

Scrap    386 

Medicine,  secondary 535 

Miami  Valley  hogs 40 

Michigan,  concrete  floors  in 473 

Milk  fed  in 430 

Pork  making  and  dairying 445 

Portable  houses  in 482 

Skim  milk  in 392 

Succotash  in   171 

Tankage  in   392 

Middlings,  buckwheat 363 

Defined   342 

Economy  of 395 

Gains  on    360 

Make  good  pork 362 

On  soy  beans 359 

Kye  feeding   350 

Wheat,   feeding    341 

Wheat,  with  soy  beans 358 

Milk,  analyses    133 

Comparison  in    429 

Skim  and  packers'  residue  com- 
pared      391 

Skim,  with  rice 383 

Skim,  for  young  ]>igs 375 

Skim,  at  Cornell 372 

Skim,  with  gluten 371 

Skim,  discussed   438 

Skim,  fed  with  oats 346 

Skim,  feeding 427 

Sour   438 

\"s.   linseed  and  glulen 435 

With  potatoes  253 

Millet    364 

('■rinding 306 

Millikcn,  J.  M 39 

Mill  tailings,  defined 342 

Mil'.vaukee   7 

Minnesota,  fasting  ii 319 

Hogging  off  corn  in 285 

Large  litters  in 144 

Pasture  rotation  i  ■ 180 

Mississippi,  cottonscc  1  nual  in...  382 

Cowpeas  in    177 

Pork  raising  in 293 

X'alley,  hog  supply  i  i 335 

X'alues    7 

Missouri,  alfalfa  i  i 233 

Artichokes  fed  in 256 


r.^GE 

Missouri,  corn-on-cob  meal  in    273,  275 

Forage  in    161 

Inbreeding  in    76 

Linseed  meal  in 375 

Number   of   hogs   in 2 

Rice  bran  fed  in 386 

Soiling  in   234 

Values    7 

Mistakes  to  avoid 321 

Mohler,   on  diseases 533 

Molasses    403 

In  Utah    404 

With   beet  pulp 402 

Montana  roots  fed  in 242 

Month's  output    5 

Moore,  A.  C,  of  Illinois 41 

Hogs   40 

On  molasses    404 

Morals,   hog    20 

Morris  &  Co 28,  29 

On  scalding 509 

Morrow,  on  corn-made  jzai... 272 

Mulefoot    61 

Weights 62 

Mulefoots,  Indiana  census 31 

Mustard  hulls   i<^7 

Myrick,   on  beet  by-products 401 

X 

National    Stockman,    on    large    lit- 
ters    145 

On  sows  eating  pig  ; 131 

National  Swine  ^Associa'.i(  ii  rani,s 

breeds 40 

Neapolitan   boars'   inlluencc 33 

Nebraska,  alfalfa   in 1)7,  232 

Bone  fed  in 400 

Dipping   in    492 

Editor  on  bacon  lio;: 23 

Farmer  describes  lug  house...  471 

Hog   house    in 470 

Large  litters  i-i 145 

Number  of  hogs  in 2 

Tankage  at    390 

Nevada,  values   7 

New  Brunswick,  large  litters  in..  144 

New  Hampshire,   pumpkins  fed  in  261 

New  Jersey  values 7 

New  York,   Chesliircs  i. 58 

Cottonseed    meal    in 382 

Large  litters  in 143 

\'alue   7 

N'ictorias  in  57 

Niles,  on  parturition 140 

North  Carolina,  cot!onsird  meal  in  382 

North  Platte,  alfalfa  at 198 


;9S 


SWIXE    IN    AMERICA 


PAGE 

Number   of   hogs   received   at   Chi- 
cago      3 

To  keep   314 

Numbers  of  hogs 1 

o 

Oat  hulls  objectionable 347 

Oats  and  linseed  meal  compared.  3/5 

Feeding    346 

Ground  for  feeding 346 

More  expensive  than   corn 346 

Whole  vs.  ground 346 

Oaxaca,   hogs   in 64 

Offal    for   feeding 387 

Ohio  and  Texas,  values  compared       4 

Ohio,   Chesters  in 36 

Farmer,  on  butchering 51J 

Farmer  on  rooting 186 

Large  litters  in 143 

Number  of  hogs  in 2 

Poland-Chinas  in 39 

Portable   houses    in 485 

Stubble   pasture   in 179 

Tankage  at   395 

Values    8 

Yorkshires  brought  to 51 

O.  I.  C,  meaning  of  term 36 

Oil  meal   374 

Oklahoma,  alfalfa  in....JJ5,  227,  231 

Cottonseed  meal   in 382 

Ponds  in    413 

Omaha,  receipts 6 

Third  market    6 

Ontario,   artichokes   fed   in 258 

Barley  feeding  in 351,  353 

Feed  experiments    318 

Field  peas  in    356 

Frozen  wheat  fed  in 363 

Gluten   in    373 

Milk  fed  in 434 

Oats  fed  in 346 

Potatoes  fed  in 253 

Pumpkins  fed  in 261 

Roots  fed  in 239,  248 

Wheat  feeding  in 340 

Whey  fed  in 441 

Orange   County,   large   litters  in..  145 

Orchard  grass  for  pasture 170 

Oregon,  artichokes  fed  in.... 256,  258 

Oregon,   pasture   in 162 

Pumpkins   fed  in 261 

Otis,  on  alfalfa 223 

Ottawa,  buckwheat  fed  at 363 

Output  in  a  day 5 

Overlay    .' 477 

Ozark  hogs  6i 


P 

PAGE 

Packer's  output  in  a  day 5 

Preferences   26 

Packing  hogs   7,21 

House   by-products    386 

Parturition,    Niles   on 140 

Paskeil,  on  watering 411 

Pasturage,  supplemental  feed 340 

Pasture,  alfalfa   225 

Early 169 

Gains  on    167 

Limitations    167 

Location   461 

Rotation  of    179 

I      Stubble   179 

^-Alalue  of  ■^,,^-rrrTr>.,.^. .   .^^^^.MAr 

Pawnee  County,  hog  house  ni 467 

Peanuts,  fed  in   South  Carolina..  257 

For  pasture   168 

To  supplement  corn 296 

Peas,  Canada  field  fed  in 356 

Exclusively   357 

For  soiling    356 

Grinding 306 

Hulls  of    367 

Substitutes  for  corn 356 

With  grain  crops 356 

Peccaries 64 

Pedigree   90 

Associations    25 

Certificate   of   ancestry 80 

Importance   of  knowing 79 

?klan   back   of 91 

Tabooed,   fancy 20 

Vs.  type 19 

Penitentiary,   watering   hogs  in...  411 

Pen  holders,  defined 333 

Pens,  cost   459 

Pennsylvania,  values   7 

Peter,  Charles,  on  fasting 320 

Peters,   on   dipping 492 

Pickling 518 

Pigs,  birth  of 126 

Eaten  by  sows 130 

Fall    155 

Fed  soy  beans 359 

Feeding  young 151 

Market  type   332 

:Marking   158 

Percentage  in   Chicas;.- "...  333 

Weights  of    332 

Young,  barley  fed 352 

Young,   in  rye 348 

Yotmg,  linseed  meal  for 375 

Plague   swine    5.'6-542 

Poland-China  and  Berkshire  colors  41 


599 


PAGE 

I'olaiul-China    and    Beikshires,    at 

fairs   30 

Classified 34 

Crosses   5-'7 

Fecundity 145 

l*'ed  kafir  corn  meal 344 

Fed    soy    meal 344 

Feeding  experiments   303 

History   39 

Hold  their  own 40 

Indiana  census   31 

Influence   10 

Influence  on  Victoria 57 

Large  litters    144 

Name  adopted 40 

On  alfalfa   219,  223 

Points   42 

Popularity 33 

Preferred   28 

Soiling   234 

Sizes    41 

Polk   County,   fasting  in 319 

Ponds    411 

Building   413 

Pork,    cost    of    making 269 

Exported   2 

I'or  curing 327 

For  the  south 523 

From  barley   350 

I'Vom   linseed  meal 375 

I'rom  millet   364 

I'rom  rye 349 

Making  and  dairying 445 

Making,   home 517,  523 

Mess   327 

Raising  in  the   south 293 

Soft    361 

Portugal,  supposed  home  of  Durocs  44 

Potatoes    fed    305 

I"cc(ling    252 

Sweet   253 

Prairie   I'armer,  on  sow  feeding..  122 

Preserving   51? 

Price,  average  at  Chicago 6 

Current,   Cincinnati,  on  weights  585 

On  large  litters 144 

Prices,   influence   of   high 15 

Of  swine 585 

Prime  hogs 326 

Princess   Anne  County,   fasting  in  320 

Prize  awarded   A.    B.   Allen 47 

Profits  attractive   13 

Dependent  on  care l(j 

Wallace  on   314 

Profitableness  of  h'ljrs 300 

Prolificacy,   examples   of    142 

Injured  by  breeding 73 


PAGE 

Protection  important   317 

Proteid,    meaning    of 301 

Protein   in   corn 372 

In  peas   356 

Producing    358 

Pulley,   on  watering 416 

Pumpkins    260 

Q 

Quaker  influence  on  hog  growing     35 

Qualifications  of  breeder 16 

Quarantining  discussed    490 

Quiet,    importance   of 317 

Quincy,   on   soiling 162 

Quinsy  578 

R 

Randolph  County,  fasting  in 319 

Rankin,  on  beets 249 

Rape    173 

And  alfalfa  compared 222 

Ration,  badly  balanced 267 

Razor-lJacks   14,  60,  526 

Blood  not  needed 74 

Non-fattening    23 

Receipts  at  stock  yards 6 

Kansas  City   6 

Red  Dog   366 

Refuse,  hotel    421 

Register     and     Farmer,     on     swill 

feeding 423 

Regularity  important   316 

Retirement,  age  for 101 

Reynolds,  on  pork  making 445 

Rhode  Island  values 7,       8 

Rice,  by-products 383 

Polish    385 

With  corn  meal 385 

Rickling,  fasting  in 320 

Ridgeway,  on  pork  production..    296 

Riley  County,   fasting  in 320 

Ringing    185 

Robison,  on  alfalfa 219 

Rogers,   on  tubercular   h'lgs 553 

Rommel,   on  animal   meal 388 

On   barley   feeding 354 

On  beet  pulp 402 

On  dips   495 

On  oat  feeding 346 

On  pumpkins   261 

On  roots   242 

Geo.  M.,  on  soaking  feed 307 

On  water  needed 312 

Rooting   1X5 

Roots  and  bacon 247 


6oo 


SWINE    IX    AMERICA 


Roots  and  grain J4 J 

Boiled   305 

Comparative  value   J40 

Use  of   238 

With  barley 3Si 

Ross  County,   rooting  in 186 

Rye  feeding  in 348 

Rothamslcd,  experiments  ciud....  302 

Roughs  defined    333 

Russian  cross    40 

Hogs 39 

Rutabaga    239 

Rye   and   barley   C(im;)ared 347 

Rye,  as  nurse  croj) 348 

As  pasture  347 

Discussed  347 

Ground    349 

For  pasture  170 

Pasture    172 

Supplemental  feed   340 

Wet   349 

S 

St.  Joseph 6 

St.   Louis,  market 6 

On  diseases 533 

On   tubercular   hogs 552 

Salt  distribution   520 

Sand,  hogs  eat 321 

Sanitation,   discussed    490 

Prevents  disease   532 

Saratoga  County  hogs 44 

County  \'ictorias  in 57 

Sausage,  boars  used  for 334 

Scalding   509 

Scars    572 

Schoharie  County,  large   litters  in  143 

Schwarzchild  &   Sulsberger 29 

Schlerostotum  dentatum   564 

Scrub  vs.  pedigree 91 

Scrubs,  declining 11 

From  bure-breds,  making 18 

Selection,  age  for 92 

Influence  on  domestication 20 

Influence  on  values 7 

Importance  of 69 

Self-feeders :^23,  324 

Sermon  on  the  Mount 20 

Service,   age   for 94 

Sex,  proportion  in  litter-; 75 

Shaker  hogs   40 

Influence  on  hog  raising 39 

Shaw,  cited    33 

On   concrete   floors 473 

On   linseed   meal 374 

On  overlays   478 


PAGF 

Shaw,  on  pea  feedir.g 356 

On   portable    houses 482 

Shawnee,   large  litters  in 145 

Shelter,  important    317 

Shepard,  S.   M.,  book  by 84 

On  dipping  device 496 

Sheridan  County,  kafir  corn  fed  in   345 

Shipstuff,   defined    342 

Shorts  and  tankage  compared....    391 

Shorts,  defined    342 

Rye,  feeding 350 

Wheat,   feeding    341 

.Shotes,  on  rye 349 

Shoulders,   cured    327 

Curing    517 

Sides,    salting    519 

Sihler,  on  measles  and  tricliina...   564 

Sires,  desirable  points  of 82 

Influence   of  pure-bred 11 

Immature   undesirable    95 

Importance  of  good 91 

Importance  of  pure-bred 81 

Personal  choice   t>f 87 

When  to   select 86 

Size,  Chester 37 

Hampshire    56 

Of  yards   312 

Poland-Chinas 41 

Popular    29,     30 

Preferred   27 

The  object  8 

Skim  milk,  economy  of 395 

With  beet  pulp 403 

Skinner,   on  pig  feeding 360 

Prof.,  on  soy  beans 357,  358 

Slaughter    house    waste 386 

Number  of,  1908 5 

Slaughtering 508 

Slop,  advantages  of 418 

Smith,  II.  R.,  on  alfalfa 232 

Smith   County,   fasting  in 320 

On  alfalfa 232 

Smoking 518 

Snyder,  on  alfalfa l',8,   212 

Soaking  feed   308 

Soiling   162 

Alfalfa   in    Missouri 234 

Sorghum    403 

Molasses  in   Kansas 405 

To  supplement  corn 296 

South  Carolina,  artichokes  fed  in.    257 

Rice  in   383,  385 

Sweet  potatoes  fed  in 253 

South  Dakota,  dipping  device  in.  .    496 

Sow,  condition  for  breeding 117 

Good  brood   109 

Housing 123 


INDEX 


60 1 


PAGE 

Sow,  influence  on  litter 118 

Keeping  good   107 

Personal  choice  of 87 

Prize-winning 89 

Protection  for 117 

Selection   108 

Treatment   of  uglv 125 

Weight  of   '. 74 

Sows,  barley  for 352.  353 

liarren    137 

Hest  age  for  breeding 146 

liruod,  after  cattle 119 

Hating  pigs 130 

l-'cd  linseed  meal 374 

Gluten  for 372 

In    rye    348 

Nest   125 

Number  needed  to  start 112 

Old,  unsalable    27 

Too  many   22 

Winter  care   of 122 

Soy  bean  meal  fed 344 

Beans 357 

Economy  of 395 

Get  nitrogen   from  air 359 

Grinding    306 

Supplement  corn 2'^'7,  359 

Makes   good   pork 362 

Spain,  supposed  home  of   Durocs.  44 

Spare  ribs,  curing 521 

Spraying    506 

Speltz   362 

Spencer,  on  young  pigs 128 

Spiroptera  strongyliiie    563 

Spraying    492 

Springfi^d,   rice  bran  at 386 

Squashes    260 

Fed  in   Colorado 263 

Stag,  defined   101 

Stags,  defined   333 

Stamina,   injured  by  breeding....  73 

Primary  aim 74 

Standards,  establishing   25 

Stock,  registered,  importance  of..  68 

Stock   yard   receipts.   Union 5 

Strongylus  dentatus    562 

Eloiigatus   563 

Stubble,  pasture   179 

Succotash,   for  pasture 170 

Suffolk   5,S 

History   50 

Suffolk's  Indiana  census 31 

Classified   34 

Sugar,  by-products 400 

Industry,  .\merican   401 

Sumner  County,  alfalfa  in 224 

Sumter,    on   alfalfa 224 


PACE 

Sunshine,  a  cleanser 153 

Sunstroke  591 

Superstitions  about   inbreiding.  .  .  77 

Sweden,  molasses  in 403 

Sweepings   365 

Swift  &  Co 29,  30 

Swift,  on  scalding 509 

Swill,   danger   in 419 

Swine,  husbandry  quoted 267 

T 

Tails,  pigs  lose  their 581 

Tamworths,  at  agricultural  colleges  53 

At  fairs  30 

Classified   34 

Crosses   54 

Feeding   experiments    303 

For  bacon   52 

History  of   52 

Influence  of    11 

Indiana  census    31 

Points   54 

Slow  maturing 53 

Why   unjnofitable    54 

Tankage,  economy  of 395 

I'ertilizer,   not  a  food 399 

On  soy  beans 359 

Supplements  corn 296,  358 

With   corn  meal 389 

Tar,  preparations   495 

Taylor  Bros.,  on  large  litters 145 

Teeth,  black   577 

Sharp,   on   young   pigs 135 

Tennessee,  large  litters  in 145 

Milk  fed  in 432 

Number  of  hogs  in 2 

\-alues    7 

Texas  and  Ohio,  values  compared  4 

Texas,   cottonseed  meal   in 381 

Number  of  hogs  in 2 

X'alue  of  hogs  in 4 

Thin   Rind    50,  55 

Association    55 

Thumps    578 

Time  to  kill 318 

Tobias,  on  hog  house 471 

Trichina    564 

Trough,  pigs  feeding 151 

Troughs,  illustrated 423-426 

Tuberculosis   550 

Turnip   239 

Turnips,  cooked    249 

Tusks,   removing    101 

Types,  "bacon"  and  "lard" 22 

Type,  bacon,   in  corn  belt 25 

Common   sense    13 


6o2 


SWINE    IN    AMERICA 


PASE 

Types,  degenerate   15 

Farmer's  ideal    19 

For  different  men 18 

Locality  influences    34 

Most  profitable   19,  21 

Robust   20 

Selected  for   69 

\'s.  breeds  19 

u 

I'd.ler,  inflamed   580 

Uniformity,  lost   12 

Union  Village  hogs i9,  40 

Union  stock  yards  receipts 5 

United  Kingdom,  number  of  hogs 

United  States  hog  supply 335 

Number  of  hogs  in 1 

Utah,  alfalfa  in 192 

Feeding  experiments   308 

Milk  fed  in 428 

Molasses   fed   at 404 

Roots  fed  in 242 

Soiling  in    163 

Utility,    a   factor 26 

V 

Value  of  hogs  in  U.  S 4 

Of  hog  products 1 

Variations   7 

X'alues  by  states 587 

Compared   5 

Of  swine   585 

U.  S.  department  of  agriculture  7 

\'erill,  on  worms 561 

Vermont,   large   litters  in 145 

Sweet  and  soul  milk  fed  in....  438 

Vetch   178 

X'ictoria,  Davis   57 

N'ictorias  at    fairs 30 

Classified 34 

History  of    57 

Indiana  census 31 

Scale  of  points 58 

Weight 57 

Virginia,    fasting   in 320 

Flour  feeding  in 366 

w 

Wabash    407 

Losses  on 408 

Wallace,  Henry,  on  alfalfa 233 

On  boar  selection 99 

On  brood  sows 139 


PAGE 

Wallace,  Henry,  on   hogs  make-up  309 

On  maximum  profits 314 

Wallace's   Farmer,   on   self-feeders  324 

On  corn  substitutes 291 

Wallows   411 

Cientry,  on    412 

Lovejoy,   on    412 

Paskell,  on    411 

Walter   Bros.,  on  large  litters....  143 

Warren   County,   Ohio 39 

Hogs    40 

Large  litters  in ^  143 

Washington    County,    large    litters 

in 144 

Washington,  cottonseed  meal  in..  382 

Waste,  slaughter  house 386 

Water,  consumed   312 

Effect  in  slop 418 

Supply    314 

Surface 407 

Watering,  device  for 416 

Waters,      compares      alfalfa      and 

clover 235 

On  forage   161 

Weaning    149 

Week's  output    5 

Weight  and  feed  table 311 

Average  of  young  pig 115 

Desired   9 

Increases 318 

Unprofitable    37 

Weights,  average    5 

Average,   at  Chicago 6 

Average,   at    Kansas    City 6 

Average,  at  Omaha 6 

Average   lard    9 

Chester   37 

Hampshire    56 

Hogs   will   dress 524 

Live   585 

Poland-China    41 

Popular    29,  30 

Preferred   27 

Tamworth    53 

Wheat  and  buckwheat  compared..  363 

And  millet  compared 364 

Bleached,   feeding    340 

Burnt   365 

Fed  with  buckwheat 363 

For  breeding  stock 340 

For  growth   340 

For  hogs   337 

Frozen   366 

Meal  and  gluten  compared 372 

Middlings      and      linseed      meal 

compared   375 

Milk   products  analyses 342 


6o3 


PAGE 

Wheat,  shriveled,  feeding 341 

Soaked,  feeding  test 338 

Spoiled,  feeding   340 

Sprouted,  feeding   340 

\s.  corn   for  hogs 338 

With   beet   pulp 401 

With  kafir  corn 343 

Whey,  discussed 440 

r.ains  on    434 

White   River,  losses  on 408 

Wilson,  on  hogging  off  corn 285 

Prof.  J.   W.,  on   millet 364 

Wiltshire,  side   328 

Wisconsin,  alfalfa  in 191 

Combination   house   in 462 

Cottonseed  meal   in 382 

Crossing  in    526 

Discussion  of  pedigree 90 

Erroneous  feeding  in 267 

l""eed  grinding   306 

Feeding  oats  in 346 

Feeding   swine   in 361 

Houses  in    479 

Milk  feeding  in 444 

Number  of  hogs  in 2 

On   size  of  litters 115 

Portable  houses  in 487 

Rape  at   173 


PACE 

Wisconsin,    Stock    feed    investiga- 
tions     367 

Whey  fed  in 441 

Woll,   Prof.   F.   W.,  analyses  milk  133 

Prof.  F.  W..  on  stock  feeds 367 

Woodford,    on    alfalfa 223 

Worm,  kidney    561 

Long  thread    557 

Lung    543 

Pin    556 

Round    557 

Thorn   headed    559 

Worms  556 

Y 

Vale,  on  large  litters 144 

Yards,   size   of 312 

Yorkshire  club 51 

Feeding  experiments    303 

History   50 

Points     51 

Yorkshires  at    fairs 30 

Classified   34 

I'ed  millet   364 

Indiana  census   31 

Influence  on  Victorias 57 


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First  Principles  of  Soil  Fertility 

By  Alfred  Vivian.  There  is  no  subject  of  more  vitai 
importance  to  the  farmer  than  that  of  the  best  method 
of  maintaining  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  The  very  evidcni 
decrease  in  the  fertility  of  those  soils  which  have  been 
under  cultivation  for  a  number  of  years,  combined  with 
the  increased  competition  and  the  advanced  price  of  labor, 
liave  convinced  the  intelligent  farmer  that  the  agriculture 
of  the  future  must  be  based  upon  more  rational  practices 
than  those  which  have  been  followed  in  the  past.  We 
have  felt  for  some  time  that  there  was  a  place  for  a 
brief,  and  at  the  same  time  comprehensive,  treatise  on 
this  important  subject  of  Soil  Fertility.  Professor  Vivian's 
experience  as  a  teacher  in  the  short  winter  courses  has 
admirably  fitted  him  to  present  this  matter  in  a  popular 
^tyle.  In  this  little  book  he  has  given  the  gist  of  the 
subject  in  plain  language,  practically  devoid  of  technical 
and  scientific  terms.  It  is  pre-eminently  a  "First  Book." 
and  will  be  found  especially  valuable  to  those  who  desire 
an  introduction  to  the  subject,  and  who  intend  to  do  subse- 
quent reading.     Illustrated.     5x7  inches.     265  pages.     Cloth. 

Net,  $1.00 

The  Study  of  Corn 

By  Prof.  V.  M.  Shoesmith.  A  most  helpful  book  to  all 
farmers  and  students  interested  in  the  selection  and  im- 
provement of  corn.  It  is  profusely  illustrated  from  photo- 
graphs, all  of  which  carry  their  own  story  an^'  contribute 
their  part  in  making  pictures  and  text  matter  a  clear,  con- 
cise and  interesting  study  of  corn.  Illustrated.  5x7  inches. 
100  pages.     Cloth Net,  $0.50 

(1) 


The  Cereals  in  America 

Ry  Thomas  F.  Hunt,  M.S.,  D.Agri.,  Professor  of  Agron- 
omy, Cornell  University.  If  you  raise  live  acres  ol  any  kind 
of  grain  you  cannot  afford  to  be  without  this  book.  It  is  in 
every  way  the  best  book  on  the  subject  that  has  ever  been 
written.  It  treats  of  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  every 
grain  crop  raised  in  America  in  a  thoroughly  practical  and 
accurate  manner.  The  subject-matter  includes  a  comprehen- 
sive and  succinct  treatise  of  wheat,  maize,  oats,  barley,  rye, 
rice,  sorghum  (katir  corn)  and  buckwheat,  as  related  particu- 
larly to  American  conditions.  First-hand  knowledge  has  been 
the  policy  of  the  author  in  his  work,  and  every  crop  treated  is 
Ijresented  in  the  light  of  individual  study  of  the  plant,  if  you 
have  this  book  you  have  the  latest  and  best  that  has  been 
written  upon  the  subject.  Illustrated.  450  pages.  55^x8 
inches.      Cloth $1.75 

The  Forage  and  Fiber  Crops  in  America 

By  Thomas  F.  Hunt.  This  book  is  exactly  what  its  title 
indicates.  It  is  indispensable  to  the  farmer,  student  and 
teacher  who  wishes  all  the  latest  and  most  important  informa- 
tion on  the  subject  of  forage  and  fiber  crops.  Like  its  famous 
companion,  "The  Cereals  in  America,"  by  the  same  author,  it 
treats  of  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  every  one  of  the 
forage  and  fiber  crops.  With  this  book  in  hand,  you  have 
the  latest  and  most  up-to-date  information  available.  Illus- 
trated. 428  pages.     5J^x8  inches.     Cloth $i-75 

The  Book  of  Alfalfa 

History,  Cultivation  and  Merits.  Its  Uses  as  a  Forage 
and  Fertilizer.  The  appearance  of  the  Hon.  F.  D.  Coburn's 
little  book  on  Alfalfa  a  few  years  ago  has  been  a  profit  revela- 
tion to  thousands  of  farmers  throughout  the  country,  and  the 
increasing  demand  for  still  more  information  on  the  subject 
has  induced  the  author  to  prepare  the  present  volume,  which 
is  by  far  the  most  authoritative,  complete  and  valuable  work 
on  this  forage  crop  published  anywhere.  It  is  printed  on  fine 
paper  and  illustrated  with  many  full-page  photographs  that 
were  taken  with  the  especial  view  of  their  relation  to  the  text. 
336  pages.  6^  X  9  inches.  Bound  in  cloth,  with  gold  stamp- 
ing. It  is  unquestionably  the  handsomest  agricultural  refer- 
ence book  that  has  ever  been  issued.     Price,  postpaid,  .     $2.00 

Clean  Milk 

By  S.  D.  Belcher,  M.D.  In  this  book  the  author  sets  forth 
practical  methods  for  the  exclusion  of  bacteria  from  milk, 
and  how  to  prevent  contamination  of  milk  from  the  stable 
to    the    consumer.      Illustrated.      5x7    inches.      146    pages. 

Cloth $100 

(S) 


Farm  Grasses  of  the  United  States  of  America 

By  William  Jasper  ^iLL.\i.\y  .\  practical  treatise  on 
tlie  grass  crop,  seeding  and  management  of  meadows  and 
pastures,  description  of  the  best  varieties,  the  seed  and  its 
impurities,  grasses  for  special  conditions,  lawns  and  lawn 
grasses,  etc.,  etc.  In  preparing  this  volume  the  author's  object 
has  been  to  present,  in  connected  form,  the  main  facts  con- 
cerning the  grasses  grown  on  American  farms.  Every  pha^e 
of  the  subject  is  viewed  from  the  farmer's  standpoint.  Illus- 
trated.   248  i)ages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth $1.00 

The  Book  of  Corn 

By  IlERiir.RT  Myrick,  assisted  by  A.  D.  Shambia,  E.  A. 
Burnett.  .Alheut  VV.  1'ulton,  B.  W.  Snow,  and  other  most 
capable  specialists.  A  complete  treatise  on  the  culture,  mar- 
keting ancl  uses  of  maize  in  America  and  elsewhere  for 
farmers,  dealers  and  others.  Illustrated.  Z-/2  pages.  5x7 
inches.      Goth $1.50 


The   Hop — Its    Culture   and    Care,    Marketing    and 
Manufacture 

By  Herbert  Myrick.  A  practical  handbook  on  .the  most 
approved  methods  in  growing,  harvesting,  curing  and  selling 
hops,  and  on  the  use  and  manufacture  of  hops.  The  result  ot 
years  of  research  and  observation,  it  is  a  volume  destined  to 
be  an  authority  on  this  crop  for  many  years  to  come.  It  takes 
up  every  detail  from  preparing  the  soil  and  laying  out  the 
yard,  to  curing  and  selling  the  crop.  Every  line  represents  the 
ripest  judgment  and  experience  of  experts.  Size,  5x8; 
pages,  300;  illustrations,  nearly  150;  bound  in  cloth  and  gold; 
price,   postpaid. $i-5" 


Tobacco  Leaf 

By  J.  P..  KiLLERREW  and  Herbert  Myrick.  Its  Culture  and 
Cure!  Marketing  and  Manufacture.  A  practical  handbook 
on  il;e  most  approved  methods  in  growing,  harvesting,  curing, 
packing  and  selling  tobacco,  with  an  account  of  the  opera- 
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contents  of  this  book  are  based  on  actual  experiments  in  field, 
curing  barn,  packing  house,  factory  and  laboratory.  It  is  the 
only  work  of  the  kind  in  existence,  and  is  destined  to  be  the 
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ject of  tobacco   for  many  years.     506  pages  and   150  original 

engravings.     5  x  7  inches.     Cloth $2.00 

(9) 


Bulbs  and  Tuberous-Rooted  Plants 

By  C.  L.  Ali-ex.  A  complete  treatise  on  the  history, 
description,  methods  of  propagation  and  full  directions  for 
the  successful  culture  of  bulbs  in  the  garden,  dwelling  and 
greenhouse.  The  author  of  this  book  has  for  many  years 
made  bulb  growing  a  specialty,  and  is  a  recognized  authority 
on  their  cultivation  and  management.  The  cultural  direc- 
tions are  plainly  stated,  practical  and  to  the  point.  The 
illustrations  which  embellish  this  work  have  been  drawn 
from  nature  and  have  been  engraved  especially  for  this 
book.    312  pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth $1.50 

Fumigation  Methods 

By  Willis  G.  Johnson.  A  timely  up-to-date  book  on 
the  practical  application  of  the  new  methods  for  destroying 
insects  with  hydrocyanic  acid  gas  and  carbon  bisulphid,  the 
most  powerful  insecticides  ever  discovered.  It  is  an  indis- 
pensable book  for  farmers,  fruit  growers,  nurserymen, 
gardeners,  florists,  millers,  grain  dealers,  transportation  com- 
panies, college  and  experiment  station  workers,  etc.  Illus- 
trated.   313  pages.    5  X  7  inches.     Cloth $1.00 

Diseases  of  Swine 

By  Dr.  R.  A.  Craig,  Professor  of  Veterinary  Medicine  at 
the  Purdue  University.  A  concise,  practical  and  popular  guide 
to  the  prevention  and  treatment  of  the  diseases  of  swine.  With 
the  discussions  on  each  disease  are  given  its  causes,  symptoms, 
treatment  and  means  of  prevention.  Every  part  of  the  book 
impresses  the  reader  with  the  fact  that  its  writer  is  thor- 
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he  treats.  All  technical  and  strictly  scientific  terms  are 
avoided,  so  far  as  feasible,  thus  making  the  work  at  once 
available  to  the  practical  stock  raiser  as  well  as  to  the  teacher 
and  student.    Illustrated.    5  x  7  inches.    IQO  pages.    Cloth.    $0,73 

Spraying  Crops — Why,  When  and  How 

By  Clarence  M.  Weed.  D.Sc.  The  present  fourth  edition 
has  been  rewritten  and  set  throughout  to  bring  it  thoroughly 
up  to  date,  so  that  it  embodies  the  latest  practical  information 
gleaned  by  fruit  growers  and  experiment  station  workers.  So 
much  new  information  has  come  to  light  since  the  third  edi- 
tion was  published  that  this  is  practically  a  new  book,  needed 
by  those  who  have  utilized  the  earlier  editions,  as  well  as  by 
fruit  growers  and  farmers  generally.     Illustrated.     136  pages. 

5x7  inches.     Cloth $0.50 

(10) 


Feeding  Farm  Animals 

By  Professor  Thomas  Shaw.  This  hook  is  intended  alike 
for  the  student  and  the  farmer.  The  author  has  succeeded  in 
giving  in  regular  and  orderly  sequence,  and  in  language  so 
simple  that  a  child  can  understand  it,  the  principles  that  govern 
the  science  and  practice  of  feeding  farm  animals.  Professor 
Shaw  is  certainly  to  be  congratulated  on  the  successful  man- 
ner in  which  he  has  accomplished  a  most  difficult  task.  His 
book  is  unquestionably  the  most  practical  work  which  has  ap- 
peared on  the  subject  of  feeding  farm  animals.  Illustrated. 
5>i  X  8  inches.    Upward  of  500  pages.    Cloth.     .     .      .     $2.00 

Profitable  Dairying 

By  C.  L.  Peck.  .\  practical  guide  to  successful  dairy  man- 
agement. The  treatment  of  the  entire  subject  is  thoroughly 
practical,  being  principally  a  description  of  the  methods  prac- 
ticed by  the  author.  A  specially  valuable  part  of  this  book 
consists  of  a  n^nute  description  of  the  far-famed  model  dairy 
farm  of  Rev.  J.  D.  Detrich,  near  Philadelphia,  Pa.  On  the 
farm  of  fifteen  acres,  which  twenty  years  ago  could  not  main- 
tain one  horse  and  two  cows,  there  are  now  kept  twenty-seven 
dairy  cattle,  in  addition  to  two  horses.  .All  the  roughage, 
litter,  bedding,  etc.,  necessary  for  these  animals  are  grown  on 
these  fifteen  acres,  more  than  most  farmers  could  accomplish 
on  one  hundred  acres.  Illustrated.  5x7  inches.  200  pages. 
Cloth $0.75 

Practical  Dairy  Bacteriology 

By  Dr.  H.  W.  Conn,  of  Wesleyan  University.  A  complete 
exposition  of  important  facts  concerning  the  relation  of  bac- 
teria to  various  problems  related  to  milk.  A  book  for  the 
classroom,  laboratory,  factory  and  farm.  Equally  useful  to 
the  teacher,  student,  factory  man  and  practical  dairyman. 
Fully  illustrated  with  83  original  pictures.  340  pages.  Cloth. 
5'/<  X  8  inches $i-^5 


Moc'ern     Methods     of     Testing     Milk     and     Milk 
Products 

By  L.  L.  \'anSlvke.  This  is  a  clear  and  concise  discussion 
of  the  approved  methods  of  testing  milk  and  milk  products. 
.Ml  the  questions  involved  in  the  various  methods  of  testing 
milk  and  cream  are  handled  with  rare  skill  and  yet  in  so  plain 
a  manner  that  they  can  be  fully  understood  by  all.  The  book 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  dairyman,  teacher  or  student. 

Illustrated.    214  pages.    5  x  7  inches $075 

(12) 


Animal  Breeding 

By  Thomas  Shaw.  This  book  is  the  most  complete  and 
comprehensive  work  ever  published  on  the  subject  of  which 
it  treats.  It  is  the  first  book  which  has  systematized  the  sub- 
ject of  animal  breeding.  The  leading  laws  which  govern  this 
most  intricate  question  the  author  has  boldly  defined  and 
authoritatively  arranged.  The  chapters  which  he  has  written 
on  the  more  involved  features  of  the  subject,  as  sex  and  the 
relative  influence  of  parents,  should  go  far  toward  setting  at 
rest  the  wildly  speculative  views  cherished  with  reference  to 
these  questions.  The  striking  originality  in  the  treatment  of 
the  subject  is  no  less  conspicuous  than  the  superb  order  and 
regular  sequence  of  thought  from  the  begfnning  to  the  end 
of  the  book.  The  book  is  intended  to  meet  the  needs  of  all 
persons  interested  in  the  breeding  and  rearing  of  live  stock. 
Illustrated.     40s  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.     .      .      .     $1.50 

Forage  Crops  Other  Than  Grasses 

By  Thomas  Shaw.  How  to  cultivate,  harvest  and  use 
them.  Indian  corn,  sorghum,  clover,  leguminous  plants,  crops 
of  the  brassica  genus,  the  cereals,  millet,  field  roots,  etc 
Intensely  practical  and  reliable.  Illustrated.  287  pages.  5x7 
inches.     Cloth $1.00 

Soiling  Crops  and  the  Silo 

By  Thomas  Shaw.  The  growing  and  feeding  of  all  kinds 
of  soiling  crops,  conditions  to  which  they  are  adapted,  their 
plan  in  the  rotation,  etc.  Not  a  line  is  repeated  from  the 
Forage  Crops  book.  Best  methods  of  building  the  silo,  fillinq; 
it  and  feeding  ensilage.  Illustrated.  364  pages.  ",  x  7  inches. 
Cloth \      .     $1.50 

The  Study  of  Breeds 

By  Thomas  Shaw.  Origin,  history,  distribution,  charac- 
teristics, adaptability,  uses,  and  standards  of  excellence  of  all 
pedigreed  breeds  of  cattle,  sheep  and  swine  in  America.  The 
accepted  text  book  m  colleges,  and  the  authority  for 
farmers  and  breeders.  Illustrated.  371  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $1.50 

Clovers  and  How  to  Grow  Them 

By  Thomas  Shaw.  This  is  the  first  book  published  which 
treats  on  the  growth,  cultivation  and  treatment  of  clovers  as 
applicable  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  and 
which  takes  up  the  entire  subject  in  a  systematic  way  and 
consecutive  sequence.  The  importance  of  clover  in  the  econ- 
omy of  the  farm  is  so  great  that  an  exhaustive  work  on  this 
subject  will  no  doubt  be  welcomed  by  students  in  agriculture, 
as  well  as  by  all  who  are  interested  in  the  tilling  of  the  soil. 
Illustrated.    5  x  7  inches.    337  pages.    Cloth.    Net    .     .     $1.00 

(13) 


The  New  Egg  Farm 

By  H.  H.  Stoddard.  A  practical,  reliable  manual  on 
producing  eggs  and  poultry  for  market  as  a  profitable  business 
enterprise,  either  by  itself  or  connected  with  other  branches 
of  agriculture.  It  tells  all  about  how  to  feed  and  manage, 
how  to  breed  and  select,  incubators  and  brooders,  its  labor- 
saving  devices,  etc.,  etc.  Illustrated.  331  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $1.00 

Poultry  Feeding  and  Fattening 

Compiled  by  G.  B.  Fiske.  A  handbook  for  poultry  keep- 
ers on  the  standard  and  improved  methods  of  feeding  and 
marketing  all  kinds  of  poultry.  The  subject  of  feeding  and 
fattening  poultry  is  prepared  largely  from  the  side  of  the 
best  practice  and  experience  here  and  abroad,  although  the 
underlying  science  of  feeding  is  explained  as  fully  as  needful. 
The  subject  covers  all  branches,  including  chickens,  broilers, 
capons,  turkeys  and  waterfowl ;  how  to  feed  under  various 
conditions  and  for  different  purposes.  The  whole  subject  of 
capons  and  caponizing  is  treated  in  detail.  A  great  mass  of 
practical  information  and  experience  not  readily  obtainable 
elsewhere  is  given  with  full  and  explicit  directions  for  fatten-- 
ing  and  preparing  for  market.  This  book  will  meet  the  needs 
of  amateurs  as  well  as  commercial  pmiltry  raisers.  Profusely 
illustrated.     160  pages.    5x751.  inches.     Cloth.     .      .      .     $0.50 

Poultry  Architecture 

Compiled  by  G.  B.  Fiske.  A  treatise  on  poultry  buildings 
of  all  grades,  styles  and  classes,  and  their  proper  location, 
coops,  additions  and  special  construction  ;  all  practical  in  de- 
sign, and  reasonable  in  cost.  Over  100  illustrations.  125  pages. 
5x7  inches.     Cloth $0.50 

Poultry  Appliances  and   Handicraft 

Compiled  by  G.  B.  Fiske.  Illustrated  description  of  a 
great  variety  and  styles  of  the  best  homemade  nests,  roosts, 
windows,  ventilators,  incubators  and  brooders,  feeding  and 
watering  appliances,  etc.,  etc.  Over  100  illustrations.  Over 
125  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth $0.50 

Turkeys  and  How  to  Grow  Them 

Edited  by  Herbert  Myrick.  .\  treatise  on  the  natural 
history  and  origin  of  the  name  of  turkeys;  the  various  breeds, 
the  best  methods  to  insure  success  in  the  business  of  turkey 
growing.  With  essays  from  practical  turkey  growers  in 
different  parts  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  Copiously 
illustrated.  154  pages.  5x7  inches.  Cloth.  ....  $1.00 
(18) 


Farmer*s  Cyclopedia 
of  Ag>riculture    ^    ^ 

A  Compendium  of  Agricultural  Science  and  Prac- 
tice on  Farm,  Orchard  and  Garden  Crops,  and  the 
Feeding  and  Diseases  of  Farm  Animals 


:By    EARLEY    VERNON    WILCOX.    Ph.  D. 
and   CLARENCE    BEAMAN    SMITH.    M.  S. 

Associate  Editors  tn  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations,   United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture 


THIS  is  a  new,  practical,  and  complete 
presentation  of  tlie  whole  subject  of  ag- 
riculture in  its  broadest  sense.  It  is  de- 
signed for  the  use  of  agriculturists  who 
desire  up-to-date,  reliable  information 
on  all  matters  pertaining  to  crops  and  stock,  but 
more  particularly  for  the  actual  farmer.  The 
volume  contains 

Detailed  directions  for  the  culture  of  every 
important  field,    orchard,   and   garden   crop 

grown  in  America,  together  with  descriptions  of 
their  chief  insect  pests  and  fungous  diseases,  and 
remedies  for  their  control.  It  contains  an  ac- 
count of  modern  methods  in  feeding  and  handling 
all  farm  s':ock,  including  poultry.  The  diseases 
which  affect  different  farm  animals  and  poultry 
are  described,  and  the  most  recent  remedies  sug- 
gested for  controlling  them. 

Every  bit  of  this  vast  mass  of  new  and  useful 
information  is  authoritative,  practical  and  easily 
found,  and  no  effort  has  been  spared  to  include 
all  desirable  details.  There  are  l)etween  6,000 
and  7,000  topics  covered  in  these  references,  and 
it  contains  700  royal  8vo  pages  and  nearly  500 
superb  half-tone  and  other  original  illustrations, 
making  the  most  perfect  Cyclopedia  of  Agricul- 
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Handsomely  bound  in  clolh.  -^3.50:  half  morocco 
{•Very  sumptuous),  -JS^. 50,  postpaid 

nOAllPr    llinn  PnUDAIIV    315-321  Fourth  Avenue.  New  York.N  Y. 
UKANUL  JUUU  UUmrAN  I,       Peoples  Gas  Building,  Chicapo,  III. 


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